


The show must go on

by Mazekey, SnazzyHepcat



Series: How many feathers in a murder?  (ONE SHOTS) [2]
Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, Gotham (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Blood and Violence, Character Death, Character Study, Drama, F/F, F/M, First Kiss, Fix-It, Human Trafficking, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, M/M, Major character death - Freeform, Mayor Oswald Cobblepot, Multi, Murder Mystery, Mystery, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Not Really Character Death, POV Barbara Kean, POV Bruce Wayne, POV Edward Nygma, POV Ivy Pepper, POV Multiple, POV Oswald Cobblepot, POV Selina Kyle, Pining, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-14
Updated: 2020-06-28
Packaged: 2021-01-30 05:23:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 13
Words: 71,903
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21422875
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mazekey/pseuds/Mazekey, https://archiveofourown.org/users/SnazzyHepcat/pseuds/SnazzyHepcat
Summary: Set in season 3, previously known as Zero OneOswald's plan to kill Isabella fails and Edward finds out. If that wasn't bad enough, the mayor becomes the main suspect to the Wayne murder and Bruce wants answers. Now the Penguin and those around him will have to uncover what hides in the dark while figuring out their relationships with eachother.
Relationships: Alfred Pennyworth & Bruce Wayne, Isabella & Edward Nygma, Jim Gordon & Alfred Pennyworth & Bruce Wayne, Jim Gordon & Edward Nygma, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Oswald Cobblepot & Jim Gordon, Oswald Cobblepot/Edward Nygma, Selina Kyle/Bruce Wayne, Tabitha Galavan/Barbara Kean, Tabitha Galavan/Butch Gilzean
Series: How many feathers in a murder?  (ONE SHOTS) [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1834393
Comments: 47
Kudos: 113





	1. Better to reign in hell

**Author's Note:**

> This can be seen as an au or as a "fix it" fic, I don't mind either. You don't have to have read Earth One to understand what's going on.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Don't make me over by Dionne Warwick
> 
> Don't make me over  
Now that I'd do anything for you  
Don't make me over  
Now that you know how I adore you  
Don't pick on the things I say, the things I do  
Just love me with all my faults, that way that I love you  
I'm begging you  
Don't make me over  
Now that I can't make it without you  
Don't make me over  
I wouldn't change one thing about you  
Just take me inside your arms and hold me tight  
And always be by my side, if I am wrong or right  
I'm begging you  
Don't make me over  
Don't make me over  
Now that you've got me at your command  
Accept me for what I am  
Accept me for the things that I do  
Accept me for what I am  
Accept me for the things that I do  
Now that I can't make it without you  
I wouldn't change one thing about you  
Just take me inside your arms and hold me tight  
And always be by my side, if I am wrong or right  
I'm begging you  
Don't make me over  
Don't make me over  
Now that you've got me at your command  
Accept me for what I am  
Accept me for the things that I do  
Accept me for what I am  
Accept me for the things that I do

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yep, making this one a series. There will be Nygmobblepot elements but when I say slow burn I really do mean slow. Also, I will be focusing on other characters rather than just Edward and Oswald, specially Jim, Bruce and Selina. I do hope you will still choose to read this ^^

"It was you, wasn't it?" Jim said as he looked the Mayor of Gotham in the eyes, "you killed the Waynes."

Oswald didn't reply at first. He could feel Edward's already big eyes widen behind the specs as he watched the smaller male pour himself a glass of whiskey. The Penguin's face was completely neutral, but in the inside he was screaming and wondering if Jim would die if he fell from the highest floor of the city hall. This day had already started poorly since Gabe had called sick and wasn't able to 'fix' Isabelle's car in time. He still hadn't had the opportunity to order anyone else since Edward had stayed by his side like a lost puppy. Normally he wouldn't complain but today was a different story. The other man was already suspicious of his sour mood. To make matters worse, Gotham's scout boy was now accusing him of something that happened three ears prior. 

"It's nice to see you too, James, old friend," he took the glass and looked at it as if the liquid held the secrets to his salvation, "I have no idea what you're talking about, wasn't Hugo Strange the one behind the murder?" He finally looked at Jim. 

"I thought so too," Jim dropped an envelope on his desk, "until yesterday. Lady came to me and confessed to have lied to keep the integrity of her client, but in light of recent events she couldn't remain silent any longer. She didn't have a proper name but she had a phone number. The phone number of your old apartment."

Oswald opened the envelope and looked inside. He could feel Edward read the paper over his shoulders. It contained the contact's names, their target's name and the phone number. All other contacts besides the Philosopher's had been scratched out. Low and behold, it was his old phone number there. 

"How convenient and sketchy." Edward finally spoke and adjusted his glasses in a movement Oswald had grown to know very well. He liked to call it the 'uh, actually you're stupid' gesture. "First of all, Mister Gordon, you are no longer a detective so you have no rights to be here demanding answers to a case from three years ago, worse yet, accusing a respectable man like the mayor to be the one responsible for it." Edward spoke with the professionalism of a lawyer. 

Jim scoffed, "stay out of this, Nygma. The fact that you are here instead of an asylum is the sketchiest thing here. My business here is with Oswald." 

"Mine too. If you are here to arrest him, he should at the very least be provided with a lawyer and I so happen to be the closest thing to that currently. As I was saying before being rudely interrupted, a forgery is more than a simple likelihood considering my client's current position. The timing also appears to be far too perfect. It is obvious that Miss Lady is covering up for someone else, the person whose time you should be wasting instead of ours," Edward grabbed the envelope, "in terms you will comprehend," he forced the papers inside the envelope and cleaned his throat before making his voice sound more gruff in what Oswald would describe as a mocking attempt at imitating Bullocks voice, "this is a sack of bullshit." The Chief of Staff shoved the papers against Jim's chest. "Come back when you have real evidence. Have a nice day, ex-detective."

Oswald chuckled as Jim was left with no words and little reaction. "You heard the man, Jim. You are always welcome in my office, but try to leave work out of the door."

Jim gritted his teeth as he glared daggers at the short male. "We are not done here, Oswald." He snarled before storming out. 

Edward shook his head like a disappointed parent. "Some people." He turned around to look at Oswald as he downed his second place. "Did you?"

Oswald groaned at the burning sensation. "Did I what?" 

"Don't play dumb with me, Oswald. I'm on your side. Did you kill the Waynes?" The two shared a stare for, perhaps, a moment too long. Oswald's face went from stern to softer to defeated and he sighed.

"I don't think this is the right place to discuss that, Edward. I appreciate your help just now but I would like to be alone. You can spend the rest of the day with your girlfriend." Poison dripped from his mouth as that last word escaped his lips. 

Edward opened his mouth and Oswald was sure he was about to protest, but instead, he kept his eyes low and nodded. "Of course. Thank you, Oswald. Call me if you need anything else." Without looking at his boss, he turned around and left. He didn't even need Oswald to tell him to close the door which was greatly appreciated. 

The mayor sunk into his chair and stared at at the ceiling. This was going to be one of those days. 

**\---**

It was a cold afternoon in Gotham, something that wasn't exactly uncommon for the city. The skies were covered in fog which stretched all the way to the Wayne manor. The trees gave space to the wide building Jim had grown so familiar with, but this time familiarity was replaced with a different feeling, something darker and twisted. Jim knew Oswald. He was a spiteful little man but his actions were either well calculated or guided by emotions. This wasn't either of those. Killing two of the most well respected people in Gotham, specially while he was still a nobody seemed like too much, even for him. Still, for some reason, Oswald had been evasive. He hadn't denied the crime which made Jim very suspicious. There was nothing too concrete but he still felt in the need to tell Bruce. He needed to know.

It didn't take long for Alfred to open the door and the two of them shared a polite nod before the private investigator made his way to the living room where Bruce was waiting on the couch with his mint tea. The atmosphere in here was very different from city hall. That place was cold and pricky with bloodthirsty eyes staring at him from everywhere. It was a hostile environment if Jim had ever seen one, but different from Arkham or Blackgate, the nutjob criminals were given guns and a suit. At least Fish and Falcone would try to make you welcome even if it was just empty smiles and bad music. Bruce's mansion, however, was cozy and warm and, perhaps, the most welcoming place in all of Gotham. Despite that, he still couldn't shake off that awful feeling. Was it dread? No. Anger? Partially. Was it melancholy? No, not quite. What was it?

"Jim. It is a pleasant surprise to see you here." The boy smiled politely. Everything about him was far too mature and far too political for someone his age. Sometimes, James questioned if he knew who the real Bruce Wayne was. 

Jim nodded and sat in front of him with his knees apart. "I brought you something." He handed Bruce the file. The boy looked at it with surprise and confusion before analysing the paper. 

"What is this?"

"The Lady came to me last night with that. She said she didn't want Strange to suffer for a crime that wasn't his."

"That seems awfully out of character for her." Bruce looked up at him. 

Jim leaned back. "It is. She claimed he is a good client of hers and that she would hate to lose his partnership in favor of just some nobody with a similar nickname."

Bruce sat up straight. His eyes were cold and calculating while his brows were furrowed. "If Strange didn't kill my parents, then who did? What about the people behind Wayne enterprise and Indian Hill?" 

Jim looked down. That feeling grew in his chest. "I tracked the number. It led to Oswald Cobblepot's old apartment. I doubt his mother was the one calling the shots." 

Alfred frowned. "The bloody mayor? Are you serious?"

Jim looked at him and nodded. "I'm afraid so."

"But why?" Bruce looked at him. "What reason could he possibly have to want my parents dead?! And Arkham?" He paused. "Do you think his imprisonment was just a facade?" 

"I don't know. I tried to confront him about it but there isn't much I can do against the mayor without some more solid evidence, but I will get to the bottom of this, Bruce. I promise-"

"Like how you got to the bottom of Strange's case?!" Bruce shouted and stood up. "Or Pepper's or Fish Mooney's?! You are always bringing suspects, Jim, but none of them end up being the culprit and more innocent people keep on dying because of it and we get further away from the truth!"

"Master Bruce!" Alfred adverted him. Jim kept his head low. Bruce was right. He was incompetent and others had suffered for it. 

Bruce pursed his lips together and looked between Alfred and Jim. "I know you are trying to do the right thing, detective, but that is not enough. The fact is, if it wasn't for Penguin we wouldn't have gotten this far and that is simply unacceptable. He's a criminal and a killer and he's running Gotham." He looked at Alfred. "Even if he wasn't the one to kill my parents, he has to be stopped!" Before either adults could say anything else, Bruce ran to his room. 

"Master Bruce!" Alfred called far too late and clicked his tongue. "You will have to excuse the boy. He has been on edge lately." 

Jim shook his head. "No. He's right." He took a deep breath. The feeling grew stronger to the point it became almost unbearable. It made him furrow his brow and rub his chest. 

Jim didn't know it yet but that feeling was premonition. 

**\---**

"I just don't get it. Why is he acting so off lately? We were supposed to be best friends, partners, so why doesn't he trust me?" Edward asked as he paced around the living room in the Van Dahl mansion. Isabella was laying on the couch with her third glass of wine in her hand. When Edward had told her that the mayor had given him the day off she had expected them to have a romantic afternoon together. Maybe catch a movie, have dinner with candlelights around them as the moon shined upon them, but instead she was listening to Edward ramble about his boss for the past two hours. 

"Maybe he doesn't deserve you, my love." She suggested and forced a smile. "You are too good for the Penguin."

"I know that! I know I am and I know I'm not supposed to be so mad about it but I can't stop thinking about this. Did I do something wrong? Did I annoy him somehow? I ran the events of this morning in mind twenty seven times already and I was a delight to be around so why is he acting like I have the plague?!" Edward threw his arms into the air and looked at her. 

Isabella looked inside her now empty glass with a pout. "He is a troubled man, Eddie. You can't possibly understand what goes on in the mind of someone like that."

"So am I, in fact, I'm perhaps more troubled than he is and I still don't get it." Edward flopped on the couch with his eyes on the ceiling. "I just don't get it, darling. I care about him, I truly do but I feel like there is a rift between us. I've never been good with people." He turned to look at her and she felt her heart skip a beat. "I don't want him to hate me. I'm nothing without him." Isabella frowned deeply. How dared the Penguin mistreat her Edward? And more importantly, how dared Edward feel so strongly about him? She didn't mind that he had other friendships, she even encouraged that but whatever was going on between these two felt off. She knew about Penguin's feelings towards Edward but there was no way he felt the same way, right? She just wished she had known the answer before shaving that night. 

Isabella leaned in to gently kiss his cheek and intertwine their fingers together. "Edward, I think you should have an honest conversation with Penguin. I know you really care about him, every man needs his best friend, but a relationship can only go so far with only one of the parties trying to make it work. Give him an ultimatum. A now or never. Either he opens up to you or you will leave forever."

He looked into her eyes with sad brown ones for a moment before letting them drop to the couch. "Yeah, you are right." He sighed and leaned more on her. "I just don't want to lose him but I suppose I have no choice if he doesn't mind losing me." 

Isabella couldn't stand seeing the love of her life so sad. She put blonde hair behind her ear and leaned in to press their lips together for a moment. "And even if he does leave, I will always be here with you my love." 

That made Edward smile, the first time ever since he arrived back in the mansion. He kissed her back more passionately and his arms moved to rest around her lean waist. She couldn't wait to lose the red dress she was wearing, before she had a chance to, however, they both heard a ring come from the phone in Oswald's studies and Edward pulled away with a sigh. "I'll answer and then I'm all yours."

Isabella smiled happily at the perspective of finally doing something more fun and watched as Edward stood up and straightened his jacket. He left to get the phone and, a few seconds later, she decided to follow him. The woman watched by the door as he picked it up, they both exchanged a glance. 

"Van Dahl mansion, Edward speaking." The man answered and his eyebrows furrowed. "Gabe? No, Oswald isn't here right now." He paused and blinked a couple of times in confusion. "Fixed a car? what car?" He paused again, but this time his entire body language changed. His posture straightened, his shoulders tensed and his fists clenched. He licked his lips. "The librarian's car, huh?" Isabella's eyes widened. "Yes, Yes, I will let him know. Thank you, Gabe. Goodnight." He hung up. 

**\---**

The rest of the day had been rather uneventful, at least for Oswald. By the time he got home it was almost eleven in the evening and he was emotionally exhausted. He was still stressed about Jim and his ability to stick his nose where he shouldn't and the whole situation with Edward and Isabelle. It was like the whole world had decided to conspire against him and give the man a headache that no mere aspirin could fix. No, he needed something much stronger like the bottle of bourbon he kept in his office. He put away his suit and untied his tie before making his way upstairs. The tapping of his cane filled the big and cold mansion, a coldness that only human contact could warm up. Unfortunately, he didn't have anyone to assist him with that. Thankfully, hard liquor was a good substitute for a few hours. 

When Oswald pushed the door open he didn't expect Edward to be there alone. No girlfriend, no staff, not even a suit. The man looked disheveled as if he had lost his mind trying to crack an unsolvable riddle in just a black vest shirt. The mayor focused on his friend's eyes. They were dark and unfocused. "Edward? Why are you still here? I thought you were sleeping at your girlfriend's? Where is she?" He said with fake worry while looking to the sides. 

"She left two hours ago." Edward spoke with a cold, low voice that Oswald wasn't used to. It made him swallow. "We need to talk. Alone."

Oswald felt his heart beat faster. What could Edward want to talk about? He knew he wasn't about to confess, that was wishful thinking, so it had to be something else. He felt nervous, scared even. "O-of course, what is it you wish to talk about?" He asked with a forced smile but his voice gave him away. 

"You know, I have been very worried as of late. You've been acting awfully distant, cold even and I simply couldn't understand why. Reading people has never been my forte. I thought maybe I had done something wrong," the way Edward's helpless eyes looked into his broke his heart but it was short lived as Edward finally revealed the gun he had been hiding behind his back, "and maybe, I did do something wrong! That would explain why you'd do something so absolutely horrible like try to kill my girlfriend!"

Oswald put his arms in front of him and gulped before slowly taking a step forward. "Edward, put the gun down-"

"DON'T MOVE!" Edward yelled and pointed the gun to his heart before pulling the hammer. Oswald immediately obeyed and went silent. The few following seconds felt like an eternity to the kingpin as sweat dripped from his nose to the floor. Edward was mad, sure, but he wouldn't kill Oswald, right? They were best friends, more important, they were meant to be together. Oswald listened. "Her and I have been trying to understand but this is a charade that not even the two of us has been able to decipher, so please, Oswald, enlighten me. Why did you order Gabe to sabotage Isabella's car?" His voice was shaky, so was his hand and his entire body. It worried Oswald how close that shaky finger was to the trigger. 

Of course, Oswald had realized this had been Gabe's fault by now. The idiot had probably told Edward about this. He'd make him pay, but that was later. Now, he had to get out of this pickle. His first thought was lying, but Edward wasn't an idiot. Denying everything would only make him more irritated and bring him closer to the trigger. So the next best option was the truth. "Fine, fine, I admit it, ok? I asked Gabe to cut Isabella's brakes," he saw Edward's nostrils widen and his grip tighten, "but it wasn't to punish you, Edward. I just..."

_I love you..._

"...I wanted to protect you..."

_...please, don't hate me..._

"...I don't trust Isabelle..."

_...you are my one and only..._

"...I mean, how can you? You just met her!"

_...we were meant to be together!_

"...she is just too perfect, she looks like your dead girlfriend, she likes riddles and is absolutely infatuated with you!"

_...love me! You have to love me, not her! Just me!_

"...it's too much of a coincidence! I was just trying to protect you..."

_Me! Me! Me! Me! Me! Me! Me! Me! Me! Me! Me! Me!_

"Edward, please..."

_"Say something!" _

Edward had been staring at a random spot on the floor. His lips were pressed together in a thin line and Oswald found it impossible to distinguish what he was thinking. More excruciating seconds passed where the Penguin could only imagine he was arguing with himself before he finally lowered the gun and stared at the shorter male. "Isabella was right. You do need help," his voice was hoarse, if Oswald didn't know any better, he'd think there was actually pity in it along with anger and sadness, "help I simply cannot provide." He carefully placed the gun on the desk and walked past Oswald. "I suggest you start looking for a new chief of staff. Isabella and I are leaving Gotham forever. I'm only sparing you now in virtue of all you've done for me so far, but if you come after us I will kill you." Oswald was speechless. He felt as if his heart was shattered. He lost. He lost Edward and he couldn't even blame the bitch. It had been his own actions, his own choices that brought him there. The smaller man tried to contain himself but he could not. Tears streamed down his eyes and he shook, unable to say anything. "Goodbye, Oswald." Hearing those words finally gave him enough strength to move. 

Oswald turned on his heels to look at Edward. "I love you!" He cried out. It was now or never. A last, desperate attempt to make him stay. That did make the other man stop but only to scoff. 

"Really, Oswald? You love me? Please, you don't love anyone but yourself. I knew you were low but emotional manipulation of this level is a new low even for you. Love is about sacrifice, but I don't think you can understand" Edward said coldly and turned his back to Oswald again. "You are a sick man, Oswald Cobblepot. A sick man who will die all alone." He said before leaving. 

Oswald didn't have any strength to counter. Those words hurt far too deep. The Penguin fell to his knees and wept like he hadn't in years, or a year. Not ever since his mother died. The pain in his knee was nothing compared to the one in his chest. He had lost everything. His mother, his father, the love of his life and best friend and for what? An empty mansion? An uncaring city? Citizens that don't care whether he lives or dies? What was the point of power and riches if you didn't have anyone to share it all with? Now he'd give it all up for just one more hug from his mother, just a few more comforting words. He couldn't believe it but he actually longed for the time he spent in that small, cramped apartment because as cramped as it was, he knew there was someone there waiting for him. He knew that there was a smile he could share and a lap he could cry on. He was loved. 

Now he was just like the mansion he was in. Vast and imposing in the outside but empty and cold in the inside. He was filthy. A darkness that either consumed all those around him or pushed them away, the same emptiness that would one day, get him killed and he would perish alone and forgotten by the world. Oswald felt like he was drowning and there was no one there to save him. He wanted his mother just like a child who scratched his knee, but his mother was not coming for him. He wasn't going to fill him with kisses and assure him that it would be ok. God had stolen her away but kept him living, because that was the cruel world he lived in, an the only way to run was forward. 

After what felt like an eternity, Oswald finally stood up. He sniffed and wiped his tears before limping to where the bottle of bourbon was. He didn't even bother with a glass, he just downed the liquor while firmly holding to the crystal bottle. He only came to realize the peculiar taste when the floor became closer and all of his senses numbed. 

\---

This wasn't what Bruce had wanted. 

He had stopped by Penguin's mansion expecting to confront the man, but of course, he wasn't there. Instead, he was greeted by a woman he had never seen before. When she promised Oswald would be in the address Bruce gave her, he had expected the woman to talk to the Penguin and for the two of them to have a civilized conversation. Instead, he had had the Mayor delivered to him unconscious and tied up. He should have known better, this was Gotham after all. 

He had brought Oswald to an empty building belonging to Wayne enterprises and left him on a chair. He doubted he would be happy when he woke up which was why he left him tied up. Bruce wore a black turtleneck and some ragged jeans along with a blank black mask. The boy didn't want to look suspicious, he just wanted to make sure Oswald wouldn't lash out when he eventually freed him. All the boy wanted were answers and, if needed, justice which wasn't the same as killing. Even the Penguin had people who cared about him, people who would mourn his loss and lose a part of himself if he wore gone. 

His eyes went from the floor to the short man as he groaned and shifted on the spot before opening blue eyes. Confusion and fear were shown for only a moment until his eyes laid on who he surely assumed was his attacker. From that point on, all his eyes showed was rage. "Who are you?" The man snarled. At that moment, he looked less like a penguin and more like a beast ready to claw and bite his way out. 

"Did you kill the Waynes?" Bruce asked. He tried his best to change him voice into something lower, more gruff. 

Oswald's anger was enlighted with understanding as he scoffed and threw his head back. "So this is what this is about, huh? Why do you care?" He shook his head. "More importantly, why should I tell you? If I say no, you will think I'm lying and kill me. If I say yes, you will kill me anyways."

"I'm not going to kill you."

"Then you are a fool," Oswald's voice dripped with threat, "because the moment I get out of here, I won't stop until I have hunted every single person you ever cared about," his lips twisted into a sick grin, "Bruce Wayne."

Bruce's eyes went wide as their situation inverted with a simple set of words. No longer did the boy feel in control. "I'm not Bruce Wayne, don't change the subject. Why did you kill the Waynes?" 

Oswald sneered, "Please, Bruce. Don't take me for an idiot. There are only two people Jim Gordon would have spoken to when it comes to something like the Wayne murder, you and Bullock and you don't stink of booze." He laughed as he saw Bruce's face pale under the mask. "Oh, I almost feel bad for you, such a young and foolish boy corrupted by the ideals of a madman who calls himself a hero. How many times does James Gordon have to let you down for you to finally open your eyes?"

Bruce gritted his teeth and his hands moved on his own as he punched the Penguin with enough strength to make red roll down his nose. "DID YOU KILL THE WAYNES?!" He yelled. 

Oswald laughed, there wasn't much more he could do with his hands tied behind his back, but that was enough to make Bruce's heart beat faster. "Do you know why Jim was the only one willing to take your case? It's not because the other cops are afraid to try, it's because they are smart enough to fear failing. Jim Gordon feels no fear, not for himself or for those around him and thanks to that he has become a collector of corpses, and you know this. That is why you have taken matters into your own hands, isn't it?" Oswald continued. 

Bruce uppercut him and Oswald laughed as his head fell back. "Careful, boy, you're going to hurt your knuckles like that." The boy looked down to see that, indeed, his knuckles were bruised. He growled. 

"DID YOU-" Bruce started but was interrupted before he could finish his question. 

"YES, I DID!" Oswald yelled back with a grin that truly did make Bruce believe he was insane, maybe even not human. "I KILLED THOMAS AND MARTHA WAYNE! I HIRED AN ASSASSIN AND TOLD HIM TO BUTCHER THAT PIG AND WHORE IN FRONT OF THEIR SAD AND PATHETIC SON! WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT THAT, KID?!" Oswald spit out with poison. Bruce knew this was a trap, he could see in the Penguin's eyes as he shook and leaned forward while laughing. He knew he was just trying to get to his nerves, but Bruce simply couldn't allow him to laugh like that. 

He let out a roar filled with all the anger he had bottled up all those years and lunged forward to punch the Penguin right in the nose. 

He missed. 

Just as he jumped forward, Oswald threw himself from the chair and punched Bruce between his legs. Stupid, how had Bruce missed the fact he had freed himself? How had he not realized Oswald was only trying to buy time? He had let his emotions get the best of him and now he'd pay the price.

Bruce fell to his knees completely breathless for enough time for the Penguin to get to his feet. He grabbed the chair he had been sitting on and broke it against the boy's back, sending him to the floor. The Penguin grabbed one of the chair's legs and used a loose nail to stab Bruce in the stomach causing the boy to yell in pain while the Penguin yelled with fury. "Look at how pathetic you are! Just a pathetic little boy who misses his mommy and daddy and just can't get over it!" Oswald beat him with the leg and Bruce was simply left with no position to block, "just a scared orphan who doesn't know who he can trust anymore! You are all alone! Nobody would even care if I killed you, would them? You are absolutely worthless!" He stopped and searched the boy while Bruce coughed out blood and tried to think of anything he could do. Oswald laughed again. His appearance was somehow even more twisted thanks to all the blood covering his hands. "You don't even have a gun on you! Nor a knife! I can't believe it, you really weren't going to kill me!" He shook his head in disbelief while still laughing, "did you seriously think that you could make things right by just talking to me? Did you think that sending me to jail would solve anything?! I OWN all the judges in this city! I'm the Mayor, for crying out loud! Not a single man, woman or child would dare to raise their voice to say a single 'ah' against me besides you and that failed detective, and you wanted to fight me using the law?!"

Bruce gathered enough strength to look at Oswald and answer. "J-justice always prevails."

"Justice?! Justice doesn't exist in Gotham! It doesn't matter who killed your parents, me, Strange, a a burglar, this city created all of us and she will continue to make more like us! If you want to change the system you have to at the very least be able sacrifice something, but you aren't even willing to sacrifice your own morals! What kind of hero were you even trying to be?" Oswald raised the leg above his head one last time and Bruce expected this to be his end. He couldn't give an answer to that question. Luckily, someone else did. 

"A good one," Oswald froze and turned around to look at the door where Alfred was standing with a shotgun, "the type that doesn't do this." He aimed his gun at Cobblepot and pushed the trigger. 

Bruce watched as Cobblepot was sent flying from impact as the shattered bullet penetrated the skin of his torso. The impact was strong enough to send him through the window and down the five floors beneath them before hitting the asphalt. The boy pulled himself to his feet and stumbled towards the window before looking down. The Penguin laid inert in a pool of his own blood with his back facing them. He felt Alfred grab his shoulders and even heard him say something but he couldn't comprehend what those words meant. Adrenaline was the only thing keeping him awake, and now that the threat was gone, it was trying to run out. 

As he slowly lost consciousness while looking at the body underneath, he couldn't help but think back to Oswald's words. Now that his anger had subsided, he could almost distinguish something in them besides anger. Was it sadness? Melancholy? Perhaps even regret? As the world faded to darkness, Bruce thought back to their conversation and he could almost swear he had seen tears along with all the laughter.


	2. Burn the witch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maybe- the ink spots
> 
> Maybe you'll think of me when you are all alone  
Maybe the one who is waiting for you  
Will prove untrue, then what will you do?
> 
> Maybe you'll sit and sigh, wishing that I were near  
Then maybe you'll ask me to come back again  
And maybe I'll say "Maybe"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, I hope you had just as much fun reading it. If you find any weird symbols that shouldn't be there, let me know in the comments. I write and post these on amino before posting them here and it works a little different ^^

Edward couldn't sleep that night. All he could do was stare at the ceiling as he laid next to Isabella in her bed. The woman slept soundly without a single care in the world and Edward couldn't help but envy her. 

_'He was right, you know?'_

Edward tried to ignore his other self who stood right next to him but he found it nearly impossible. 

_'She could be potentially dangerous.'_

"He is paranoid. Isabella is complete and utterly fine," Edward whispered to his double without looking at him, "she loves me and cares for me." 

'_And yet, you can't stop thinking about him.' _  
The Other said with a grin.   
_'Just admit it, Eddie. You regret the things you said and you still care deeply about Oswald. It will make both of our jobs a lot easier. You wouldn't leave Gotham, hell, you are finding it hard to leave him for a single night!'_

Edward growled as he heard the other. He was trying to keep his voice down but it was nearly impossible. "Of course I care about him! He's my best friend, but that doesn't make what he did right, I can't just forget it!" 

'_He was trying to protect you.'_

"I don't need his protection!" Edward practically shouted causing Isabella to stir. Both versions of him glanced at her and visibly relaxed. "Although I suppose you may have a point. He didn't have ill intentions in mind and in the end no harm was done."

'_Oh, wow, you admitting I'm right? Character development, who would have thought!'  
The Other scoffed in disdain._

__

It was true, however. Oswald did have a point. Isabella had appeared in his life during a very suspicious time and her appearance and love for riddles could be seen as more than mere coincidence. He understood why Oswald would be reluctant to accept her, defensive even. Perhaps he would have been as well if their places were inverted. Rather than fighting him for caring, he should try acting like an adult and, hopefully, keep the best friendship he had ever had and the love of his life. 

"I will go talk to him tomorrow. I will apologise for some of the things I said, formally resign from my position as chief of staff and try to save our friendship. Maybe I could organize a dinner with both of them. I'm sure that, if he got to know Isabella a little better, all of his uneasiness would be put to rest and the three of us would be able to move forward." Edward decided. It wasn't that he had forgiven Penguin completely but he needed him. Oswald had been there when no one else had and he was the only person who had believed in Edward. If it wasn't for him, he would still be in Arkham. He wouldn't let this interfere with such a beautiful friendship. Oswald had probably learned his lesson anyways. Probably. 

'_That's neat and all, but what are you gonna do about his confession?'_

The elephant in the room. Part of the reason as to why Oswald hadn't left his mind were those three words. I love you. Edward had said the Penguin was unable to love but he knew that wasn't true. He had loved his mother and his father and he had lost both of them. There was a likely chance that Edward had been used to fill the void they left in Penguin's heart, but if that was the case, what type of love did he feel? Was it a parental type of love? This was the one the younger male understood the least. Brotherly love? It was possible and the one Edward was leaning towards the most, however, for some reason, the way the bird like man had said those words didn't quite fit this one, leaving one type of love left but he refused to believe his best friend had fallen for him. Oswald Cobblepot was not in love with Edward Nygma and that was a fact, or so he wanted to believe. 

Edward sighed and sat up. The more he thought about this mess, the more his head ached. It wasn't like he could do anything right now anyways. It would be improper to call Oswald at four in the morning, even if he was likely still awake. He was more of a night owl than an early bird like most people in Gotham seemed to be.

'_Oh, Eddie. You are still such a blind fool, but this is still progress even if it's a selfish progress. At least you are aware of what is best for you. We need Oswald.' _  
Edward sighed and stood up before walking to the kitchen. Perhaps something warm would help him sleep. He prepared some camomile tea before sitting on the couch and turning the tv on. It would be difficult to sleep that night, however, he truly did feel like things were going to get better. At least there was no way of them getting much worse. 

-**Breaking News: Mayor Cobblepot believed to be dead after jumping out of a building, police suspects a suicide attempt, the body has yet to be found.**-

Edward's body reacted before either of his personalities could as the tea in his mouth was sent flying over the coffee as he was proven wrong. 

\---

Edward wasn't the only one who didn't buy the suicide story. As much as he hated to admit it, Jim knew Oswald and he knew the Penguin would ever succumb to that. It was much more likely that he would try to burn the entire city down before even considering self harm, but he knew none of the cops thought that way, or rather, none of them cared. Bullock had been kind enough to let him in the crime scene despite the fact Jim was technically a civilian now. Some of the officers glared, but none of them dared to stay in the way. 

As the police had already found out, Oswald had fallen from the fifth floor. There was blood scattered around but it would take some time before the forensic team could determine who that blood belonged to, specially without a body. The rest of the building was completely empty. Whoever was behind this, they had at least some experience killing which didn't exactly rule out most of his enemies. There was one thing that didn't leave his mind, however. This place belonged to Wayne enterprises and Oswald had no reason to be here. It could be just coincidence but the timing was far too perfect. As soon as he was done there, he would go talk to Bruce. 

Jim was looking around the area Oswald had fallen when he heard Bullock click his tongue. "Shit, psycho spotted." The private investigator turned around to see Edward Nygma running towards them. The man was still wearing pajama pants so he assumed he had just found out which immediately got an exhale from him. "Hey, Nygma, police only."

The man walked under the police line and snarled. "Don't you dare stay in my way, Bullock, or I swear I will cut your throat."

"Big talk from the guy who just lost his biggest protection. It's just a matter of time until you end up back where you should be, in the looney bin with the rest of the freaks, cop killer."

Edward didn't bother replying. He walked to where the blood was and then froze. The man had never been one for showing much emotion besides that awkward polite smile and curiosity. He also saw insanity in his eyes as he pointed his own gun at him and blamed Jim for a murder he hadn't committed, but this was the first time he had seen melancholy, even sorrow in his eyes. The light coming from the police cars were the only source around but it was enough for the private investigator to notice the glistening lines on Ed's cheeks and the redness of his eyes. At that moment, he didn't see Edward as the psycho who had murdered three people and felt no empathy. He saw a man who had lost his best friend, perhaps his only friend, and was suffering and mourning. It was easy to forget that criminals were human too and even Oswald Cobblepot had people who would miss him. 

He must have let it show because Bullock was shaking his head and warning him to stop with nothing of his eyes. Jim couldn't help but give him a small smile. The detective had lost everything, his wife, his child, even his job. Even Bruce was starting to doubt him but Harvey was still there. He couldn't imagine what it would be like to lose him. Considering the past few weeks, he was confident he probably wouldn't have made it. Perhaps that was what got him to walk towards Edward slowly as to avoid startling him. He put a hand on his shoulder and immediately felt the taller male tense but he spoke anyways. "It wasn't your fault, Ed. I know you miss him, but you can't let his death bring you down. Go home, take a shower, try to sleep and-," before he could finish, a hand with long fingers grabbed his and squeezed to the point where it was painful. 

"Don't you dare tell me to calm down," he said lowly and turned to look at Jim with a grimace. "You idiots keep acting as if he did this to himself, but he wouldn't, he couldn't, you know that very well, don't you, Jimmy? That's why you are here." Edward looked into his eyes and for a moment the blond man really thought Nygma would sink a knife into his heart. Luckily, Bullock had a gun aimed at him already. 

"Nygma, let go!" The detective yelled but that only seemed to trigger the murderer even more as he brought a hand to Jim's neck. He didn't squeeze, he just kept it there as a threat. Gordon wasn't about to be intimidated by a lowlife like that. He pulled out his gun and pressed it against Edward's stomach. 

"Edward, let go. I don't want to shoot you." He didn't say 'but I will if I have to', but he could see that the brown eyes glaring into his had gotten the message, even if he was trying to pretend he hadn't. The two men looked into each other's eyes for a display of weakness but none came. They were like two wolves waiting to bite the other's throat first. 

"Nygma!" Bullock yelled again and Jim could tell he was growing more impatient.

The chief of staff finally spoke up. "I bring death with a mighty blow. I can ruin nations with a mighty hole. Many people may die. Many people will cry. A battle is won at least. In the end I can bring peace. What am I?" Edward asked without looking away from Jim. He didn't even blink. 

"War." Jim replied bluntly. Ed smiled a heinous grin and let go before taking a step back with his hands in his pocket. 

"I will get to the bottom of this, Jimmy, and I advise that you and the GCPD stay out of my way unless you want more cops dead by my hands." Edward was about to turn around, but before he did, his right hand left his pocket and pointed up. "One last thing," he looked into James' eyes, "if this does turn out to be a suicide, I will be holding you accountable, Jimmy, and you will wish you never got the chance to escape Blackgate." He turned for good this time and walked away. 

Bullock walked next to Jim and put a heavy hand on his shoulder. "Can you believe we used to feel bad for that guy?" He moved his head to the sides disapprovingly but the investigator continued to follow the deceased best friend with his eyes. 

"He isn't going back to where he came from." Jim said softly and the detective looked at him. 

"Sorry, what?"

"I will talk to you later, Harvey." The blond man walked after the brunette leaving a very confused officer behind him. 

Jim knew Edward. He wouldn't have given up so easily specially knowing his distaste for the GCPD. Ed knew him too. He would have known that, even now, even if it was Oswald, Gordon wouldn't have ignored a clue that led to the culprit. He knew they weren't trying to hide anything so he'd probably try something the police hadn't yet. As the two of them left the area the cars were in darkness settled. Even the air felt colder and thicker. Edward pulled out a flashlight and turned it on giving James a beacon to follow. He led them both to a garbage disposal just behind the building and shined inside so that they both could see. 

Along with regular trash, there was a broken chair, a rope and a broken mask. All of which were covered in blood. There was a possibility this was all part of a different crime but considering how fresh the blood was and how close to the scene they were, they both doubted. "I knew it," Edward whispered with what Jim thought to be relief but it was quickly replaced by rage as the mad genius looked at him, "do you still think this was suicide?"

Jim was filled with a very different feeling upon seeing those items, mostly shock and mild panic. He knew that chair. He had seen it in Bruce's dining room before. "I never said I did."

Edward must have seen something in his eyes despite his best attempts to hide his true feelings, some of it must have come through as Edward furrowed his eyebrows and slowly looked between Jim and the chair. "You didn't tell anyone about your assumptions regarding Oswald and the Wayne murder, did you?"

"Of course not." Jim replied immediately, perhaps too fast. This was bad. Very bad. If Edward found out he would undoubtedly go after Bruce and he doubted he would spare him just because he was a child. If worst came to worst, he would would have to act here and now to keep the orphan safe. The gun still in his hand became considerably heavier all of a sudden and he felt a knot on his throat as he carefully watched Edward purse his lips. 

Luckily, reading people wasn't one of Edward's specialties. "No, of course not." A disappointed blow of air left his nose. "That would be far too easy." He mumbled and turned around to leave. This time, Jim didn't follow. 

\---

The darkness enveloped him. He couldn't remember thing, not who he was nor how he got there. All he knew was pain. It was weak at first but the further he was dragged into consciousness, the greater it became. His entire body felt as if it had been set on fire at the same time. He felt like screaming, but no words formed in his throat, no air left his lungs and his limbs remained completely still in a constant slumber, neither alive nor dead. All he could do was feel. 

\---

Bruce's face twisted as he began waking up. The faint light coming from the window warmed his face but that alone wasn't enough to pull him from unconsciousness, but the two familiar voice passive aggressively arguing with each other were. The teen opened his right eye slightly and noticed he had been sleeping in the living room. Considering how his left eye refused to open and his entire body still ached horribly, he assumed not much time had passed since his fight with the Penguin. That memory brought the bitter taste of guilt and shame to his mouth, or perhaps it was just blood. 

"Alfred, I just want to talk to him!" He heard Jim say. Based on the tone of his voice, he was trying to remain calm but failing miserably. He could tell he was about to explode on Alfred who sounded just as stressed but managed to keep his composure somewhat. 

"I'm afraid master Bruce isn't feeling well, Mister Gordon. I will let him know you stopped by."

"Alfred, I'm not messing around here! If either of you had any involvement in Penguin's death I need to know! It's not just the police, but Nygma is looking into this and whoever did it won't look good if he finds them out. He's a psychopath, and a very dangerous one at that."

"I appreciate your concern, mate, but I assure you, Bruce and I spent the night right here. He was a bit bummed out but he didn't move a finger out of this mansion. Even if he had, believe me when I say, I've dealt with bigger monsters than a lunatic with a kink for riddles." Alfred had managed to stay collected and recovered some of his cool. That seemed to have done the job as Jim exhaled air as if they were all of his worries. 

"Fine. Fine, I will come back later. Just, please, tell him I stopped by."

"Will do, sir. Have a good day." Bruce heard the loud front door come to a close followed by footsteps that grew near. The boy quickly laid back down and closed his eye. Alfred wasn't fooled. 

"I know you aren't sleeping, sir." Alfred said and looked down at the much younger male with his arms folded behind his back. 

Bruce tried to keep the façade for one more minute before opening his eye slightly. He opened his mouth to speak and ended up licking his dry lips before speaking with a hoarse voice. "Penguin is dead."

Alfred took a deep breath while looking down. He clearly resented talking about it. "Yes, sir. I'm afraid he is."

Bruce closed his eye as his ruptured lips twisted into a frown. "We killed him."

"No, sir," Alfred took a step forward, "I killed him." 

Bruce opened his eye and looked at Alfred with gentleness and guilt. "You didn't have to. You had the element of surprise and you're both bigger and stronger than him. You could have just knocked him out and brought me back."

Alfred nodded. "Yes, sir, I could. Perhaps that would have been the right call."

"But you still killed him."

Alfred barely nodded. "I'm no hero, sir. I'm a veteran soldier. My original plan was to just bring you back and deal with Penguin some other time but when I saw him on top of you I knew I couldn't just let him go. And then when I heard he speak of your parents I just," he paused and Bruce completed the sentence, "lost control." Alfred looked at him but the brunette was facing the ceiling. "I know the feeling." He hadn't meant to attack but he fell victim to Penguin's provocations. In the end, they were both of their downfalls. "I shouldn't have gone after him."

"No. You should not, but again, you hardly ever listen to us. I would hope this would teach you a lesson for being so stubborn and acting on your own, but I know you will be doing something similar soon enough."

"Don't you feel guilty?" His voice was soft and hoarse as he spoke and looked at Alfred with a low head. He wasn't close to Oswald by any means and he knew that he wasn't a good person by any means. Still, what he said, or rather, how he said those things wouldn't leave his mind. If there was one fact he had learned from looking into his parent's death was that, as awful as someone's actions could be, they were still just human. Even the most horrible psychopath was just human. 

Alfred took a moment to respond. "Not anymore, but I don't like it either." He spoke in a somber tone, a voice he only used when he spoke of his time in the war. 

The brunette decided to ignore his feelings, at least for now. This was all his fault in the first place and he deeply regretted his actions, but alas, he couldn't go back in time. All he could do was move forward and find the truth. "It still doesn't make any sense. Why would Penguin kill my parents? What connection does he have with Wayne enterprises and those controlling it?" 

Alfred tried to hide the resigned look on his face. It didn't work. "And there you are, back to your conspiracy theories and secret cults. I doubt you'll be resting any longer even if I tell you to. How about I make a nice cup of tea and then I will help you make a broken fool of yourself?"

Bruce's lips barely bent into a smirk. Just thinking seemed to hurt but he had no time to rest. If Cobblepot had been the one to kill his parents he would need more than a half assed confession. He needed proof which meant he still had a mystery to solve. "No sugar. Thank you, Alfred." 

\---

This was ridiculous. Sure, Isabella had expected Edward to be sad over the Mayor's death but asking her to come to Cobblepot's mansion at seven in the morning was too much. As they rode there on a taxi, the woman couldn't help but notice how frustrated and anxious he seemed to be. He kept his distance from her despite all of her attempts to move closer to him on the seat. Eventually, she decided to just sit against the door and wait until they arrived to their destination. There was one good thing about this, however: she could get rid of all the evidence before Edward got to it. 

After ten minutes of neither of them talking, Isabella decided to break the silence and snap her boyfriend back to reality. "Edward? I know this is a stupid question considering recent events, but are you alright? I don't think I've ever seen you this quiet." She said worriedly. 

Edward looked from the window to his girlfriend and offered her a weak smile. "Yeah, I'm just a little lost I suppose. There wasn't much in the crime scene and, as much as I hate to admit, those morons in the GCPD were right. The blood trail led nowhere. If we can't find anything in here I'm not sure how to proceed."

Isabella reached for his hand and gently squeezed it. "Even if that is true, I will be here for you. We can give him a pretty funeral and leave flowers for him every week." 

Edward smiled a sad grin while looking down. "He liked white lilies." His voice was faint and it broke the woman's heart to hear it. The blonde didn't even realize they had arrived until the car came to a full stop and she looked through the window. The male opened his door and walked to the mansion without waiting for her. He really was stressed, wasn't he? She caught up quickly and walked after him. 

"We should split up. If I find something, I will yell for you." Isabella offered and her boyfriend nodded slowly. 

"That sounds like a good plan. Thank you for the help, my dear." He said and, much for her surprise, wrapped his long arms around her slim body and the woman melted under his touch. She adored everything about him, from the way he smelled to how warm his body felt. He was her prince in a shiny armor and she was so glad the doctor her about him. Truly, she felt as if she was in her own fairy tale. 

Unfortunately, she was forced to cut their embrace short. She had a bottle to throw away. The woman looked up at him with a smile. "It's nothing, my love. I would go to the end of the world for you." She turned around and began climbing the stairs. 

"It doesn't have an end." Edward said, making her stop and look back at him. "The world is round, it doesn't have an end unless you count the end of the atmosphere, in which case that is much appreciated."

Isabella smiled awkwardly. "It's not meant to be taken literally, my love, but very well. I would go to the end of the atmosphere for you." She said and continued to make her way upstairs. Yes, it was true that Edward could be odd at times, but what were a few quirks when the rest of him was absolutely perfect? They would be happy now and forever. There was no one to stop their love. Nobody. Not anymore. 

Isabella made her way to his studies. She didn't mind the rest of the mansion, but for some reason, this place made her uncomfortable. Perhaps it was all the portraits staring down at her. Maybe it was the heating system which was lacking in the room. She couldn't quite put her finger on it. The woman quickly made her way to the bottle and the pool of spilled liquid. She clicked her tongue at the sight and discretely grabbed toilet paper to dry the alcohol as much as she could. Edward didn't seem to be anywhere around. Once the substance was wiped and the paper was disposed of, it was finally time to take care of the bottle. It was a shame to let such a beautiful object go to waste but considering how meticulous Edward was, she simply couldn't risk it. She admired the object for a moment longer before turning around to leave the room. 

The woman hadn't noticed the only other human in the house watching her, nor did she see him enter the room and she certainly wasn't expecting him to be standing right behind her. Isabella was so startled by the sight, she dropped the bottle in shock. Without a word, Edward bent down to grab the bottle. He adjusted his glasses before turning the object in his hand as if he could read all of its secrets, the ones Isabella knew it hid and those she didn't. "Riddle me this: how is a drink completely fine in one day and yet poisoned in the other when only three people who should be there for each other were in contact with it?"

"Edward, this isn't what you're thinking." The way Edward's cold eyes looked at her sent shivers down her spine. He wasn't angry, not even sad. He just looked disappointed. 

"The three of us were the only one with access to the house, Isabella. Oswald didn't poison himself." he took a step forward and Isabella took one back. His voice was low and very different from what she knew, "I know I didn't poison him which leaves just one person." A new step.

"Don't be ridiculous, Edward! Do you really think I just carry poison on me?!"

"Oswald's father suffered from insomnia. It isn't too hard to imagine he took something to help him sleep. It's even less hard to imagine wouldn't have thrown those away. He had always been a little sentimental, you see." Edward took another step closer with unblinking eyes. Despite the sun sprinkling through the window, the man's features seemed oddly dark. He no longer carried his boyish charm. "You see, instead of saying you'd go to the end of the world for me, you should have said you'd go to hell and back. It would have been more fitting for this situation." He said lowly, somehow keeping an air of superiority. 

Isabella gulped and her legs trembled. She truly did feel like a cornered animal. But Edward wouldn't hurt her, right? He loved her! They were meant to be together! "Edward, I love you." She said weakly. 

"I remember hearing someone by the door while I was showering but when I asked you about it, you said it was the mailman. I thought it was odd, he was two hours too early but at the time I didn't think much about it." Edward continued. 

Isabella hit her back against the wall. Young Bruce had been the one in the mansion. She had promised to tell Oswald he had been there but she took the chance to deliver much more than she said she would. 

"Who was it, Isabella?" Edward asked and stopped a foot in front of her. The woman kept her head low. Her golden locks covered her face, which was good because tears were starting to form and she didn't want him to see her crying. 

"You knew it," she said weakly, "you knew it before we even got here. That was why you were acting so weird."

"I suspected it," he corrected her, "I didn't want it to be true, but deep down I knew there was no other answer. You betrayed me, Isabella." His voice was still collected but she could hear something hidden in it. She wasn't sure what though. 

"You have to believe me, Edward," she looked up at him no longer minding the tears, "all I did I did to protect you! The mayor was toxic! He was-"

"Evil?" Edward scoffed, "of course he was, Isabella! Oswald was one of the most extraordinary men in this city and anything society deems different it also calls evil! But I don't suppose you'd understand," he shook his head with a deep breath and pinched the bridge of his nose. The few seconds of silence felt like hours and the woman couldn't help but hold her breath. "What is it that makes him evil but makes me good for you?"

She wasn't expecting that question. For a moment she thought it was rhetorical but she could see the expectancy of an answer in his eyes. The woman opened her mouth like a fish a few times as she tried to think of something. "I love you, Edward! You are smart, kind, caring, gorgeous, I don't deserve you." The female tried to cup his cheek but was interrupted by a tight grip around her wrist. It was enough to make her wince in pain. 

"No, you aren't," he hissed through gritted teeth, "and you don't love me. You are obsessed with me. Trust me, I, of all people, know the difference," he chuckled with no real emotion. "And to think that I would fall for such an obvious trick! I mean, look at you! You look exactly like the woman I was attracted to, you love the exact same things that I do, hell, you even enjoy my riddles! You don't have a last name or even a past! It's so obvious that it hurts! You are my dream girl, Isabella, but the thing is, in the end of the day, dreams aren't real and at some point we have to wake up," his shoulders slouched and his lips bent into a frown, "I just wish it hadn't taken my best friend's death for me to see it." Edward's words were like a dagger to her chest. This wasn't how it was supposed to go. She was promised a fairy tale with a happy ending, but this was anything but. 

"E-Ed," The woman sobbed and whimpered and he finally looked her in the eyes, "please, don't do this. I love you! Call it whatever you want, but I love you! I have no meaning without you!" She pleaded. 

For a second, she thought she saw compassion in his eyes, if that was true, it only lasted a second. The chocolate eyes that looked into hers were just tainted with anger now. She was do hypnotized by his eyes, she didn't even notice his hand making its way to her neck. He pinned her to the wall causing a gasp to escape her lips. "You deserve death after what you did to us, but I'm willing to offer you a chance. Tell me who you took Oswald to. Tell me who killed him and leave Gotham forever." He squeezed her throat just to make the threat more believable while also giving her a chance to speak. 

Yes, it would be easy to tell him about Bruce. She could oh so easily shift the blame, but then what? Edward was her destiny, her world, her everything. Without him life was meaningless. Even then, there was no guarantee what he was saying was true. There was a likely chance she would get killed then and there and drag that poor boy with her. She couldn't do it, not when he had lost her everything as well, all because of Oswald Cobblepot. She wouldn't betray Bruce Wayne. "I did it. I killed him so that we could be together."

"You're lying." He said through his teeth and squeezed a little harder making it more difficult to breathe. "Who killed him!?" He was losing his patience, and the more he did, the tighter his grip became.

"I love you." 

"Tell me the truth!" 

"I just wanted to be with you." 

"STOP SAYING THAT! WHO KILLED OSWALD COBBLEPOT?!" 

"I'm s-sorry."

"THEN TELL ME! TELL ME WHO DID IT! WHO KILLED HIM?! WHY ARE YOU PROTECTING THEM?!" 

"G-goodb..." 

"WHAT?! WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?!" Edward shouted but no response came. The woman's body had grown limp as his hold around her neck became unbearable. As the world faded away, Isabella watched as a tear rolled down his cheek. She wondered if he was crying for her. What the woman did know was that this tear was shed for a love he could no longer have. 


	3. New day rising

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dream a little dream of me- Doris Day
> 
> Stars shining bright above you  
Night breezes seem to whisper I love you  
Birds singing in the sycamore tree  
Dream a little dream of me
> 
> Say nighty night and kiss me  
Just hold me tight and tell me you miss me  
While I'm alone and blue as can be  
Dream a little dream of me
> 
> Stars fading but I linger on dear  
(Oh how you linger on)  
Still craving your kiss  
(How you crave my kiss)  
Now I am longing to linger till dawn dear  
Just sitting there  
(Give me a little kiss)
> 
> Dreams till sunbeams find you  
Sweet dreams that leave all worries behind you  
But in your dreams whatever they be  
Dream a little dream of me
> 
> Stars fading but I linger on dear  
Still craving your kiss  
Ya I am longing to linger till dawn dear  
Just saying this
> 
> Sweet dreams when dreaming  
(Till sunbeams find you keep dreamin')  
Gotta keep dreamin'  
(Leave your worries behind you)  
But in your dreams whatever they be  
You gotta make me a promise  
Promise to me  
You'll dream dream a little dream of me

_Four months ago_

There was no denying it anymore, the monsters created and hidden away in Indian Hill had become public knowledge and there was no denying they were dangerous to Gotham and its citizens. They had to be hunted down and the one leading the angry mob was none other than Oswald Cobblepot, also known as the Penguin, along with his million dollar reward for whoever could capture the supposedly leader of the creatures, Fish Mooney. As the GCPD proved even more incompetent, Oswald's popularity among the people only grew and, eventually, it became one the main factors that assured his election over the former mayor James along with the safety of the city as all the monsters were either killed, captured or left Gotham after one specially brutal attack. 

But Ivy Pepper didn't really have anything to do with any of that. She just wanted money. 

Pamela Lillian Isley Pepper, or Ivy Pepper as she was nicknamed first by her father and then by everyone else around her, never had much. At its best, both of her parents were unemployed and at its worst her father a violent drunk who would get occasional jobs working for the local mafia and let out all of his frustrations on his wife and daughter. Life wasn't easy, but again, this was Gotham. Things were never easy here. When Ivy wasn't helping her mother with the chores around the house, she would spend most of her time reading about plants. She wasn't sure why she liked them so much. Perhaps the girl liked that they were quiet, maybe she could relate to their unceasing search for light but it was probably because her parents never let her have an actual pet and plants were the closest thing she was allowed to keep. Although life was difficult, she knew it could be a lot worse. At least she had a caring mother and a father willing to talk to her once in a while, or so it was until the day her father was killed for a crime he didn't commit and her mother killed herself leaving the girl on her own. After that day her life changed significantly and only for the worse. Even among the other homeless orphans, the only person who bothered to care about a weird red haired kid obsessed with her plants was Selina Kyle or Cat as she was known. The two of them began to live together, care for one another and help each other. It took some time to adapt, but Ivy grew used to it and she finally had a home again. 

It was only the two of them against the world, but it was enough. Or so she thought, but Selina seemed to think very differently. Cat actually thought helping the monsters the entire city were trying to destroy with their pitchforks and torches was actually a good idea. Ivy tried to change her mind. If the two of them worked together they could take down their leader and hand her over to the Penguin for the reward and, who knew, maybe he'd be so impressed he'd even be willing to take them in! They could become the true princesses of Gotham just like the stories her mother used to read to her. Pride, however, was Selina's biggest sin and she put her younger friend down every time. Poor naive Selina in her delusional beliefs her mother would cone back for her some day. Truly, Ivy pitied her, and that same pity along with a touch of impatience got the red haired young woman to act. 

Although she no longer worked for Sonie, Butch Gilzean's nephew, she still had some of the mushrooms she had been cultivating for him and she would use them to catch Fish. She had followed Selina to their hideout a couple of times now and she had managed to memorize the path to the point Pepper no longer needed her friend to go to the house of horrors as the girl had proudly nicknamed the place. She had her weapon and her way, now she just needed to find the perfect moment to strike and, after several dreadful weeks of wait, it finally finally appeared.

The leading woman had sent most of her team out in the city for some dude named Strange. The girl didn't know why she wanted that man, but that wasn't important. What mattered was that Fish was practically alone and the few people with her acted more like servants than fighters. Ivy sneaked into the kitchen while the woman's meal for the night was with relative ease. She added her 'secret ingredient' and hid for the next hour or so. Ivy had finally perfected them meaning the mushrooms should leave her target completely out for at least six hours, all the while they would have the best dream they could. She supposed the woman deserved it since she'd likely get killed once she was under Penguin's possession or worse, not that Ivy cared. She just wanted the reward. 

Sneaking in Fish's room proved to be more complicated than Ivy had expected. She didn't think the woman would actually lock the door before eating but apparently she had been wrong. That was the point where she missed Selina the most. Her lockpicking skills would have been very useful but since Ivy lacked her friend and the skills, she was forced to improvise. The window would have to do. 

It was a dark night in Gotham city save for the full moon shining above the Earth. The old mansion the monsters were hiding in was located in the outskirts of the city, making it even less illuminated than the deteriorating streets of that city. Right next to the house was a river, now contaminated after an accident in a research center nearby under the ownership of Wayne enterprises. Because of the chemicals, no flora grew around the area and the smell around the mansion was absolutely disgusting. Ivy had no idea how anyone could actually live in a place like this. 

The girl swallowed a gag and a cough as she hung from the ceiling and desperately tried to keep her eyes from looking at the hard ground several feet under. After a few shallow breaths she decided to just hold her breath and move as fast she could. She was almost there anyways. Through much sacrifice and many close calls, Ivy managed to reach the window. It was closed but not locked. With some hardship, the girl managed to slide it open and swing inside. 

Once she finally calmed down a little and promised herself to never do that again, she stood up and looked at her sleeping target. Over the weeks, Ivy observed Fish from afar many, many times but this was the first time she was face to face with the woman. Even asleep, the woman's sharp features were still imposing, like a tiger ready to attack at any moment. Ivy slapped herself for just staring for so long and walked to the closet for the final part of her master plan. She would need a rope to lower the woman to the ground, but the ginger doubted she would be finding one in the room so she'd improvise one using the woman's clothes and bed sheets just like how Rapunzel used her hair for her prince to climb.

She pulled out everything useful she could find and began working on tying it all together. The girl couldn't help but smile to herself. She had done it, even if Selina wasn't there, she had managed to catch the one woman even Jim Gordon had difficulty catching. She did it and all by herself. Maybe the world wasn't so bad after all. 

The girl had been so busy celebrating her victory she almost didn't see the hand stretching her way. Almost. With a shriek and wide eyes, the girl jumped back on her feet and stood in front of Fish Mooney with her cold blue and brown eyes narrowed with caution. "Well, well, well, what do we have here?" She took a step forward and Ivy took two steps back. "A little spy bitch. Who do you work for? Penguin? That little creep, is this how he repays someone who spares his life?" 

"S-stay away from me! How are you even awake?!" Ivy knew about Fish's abilities, Selina had told her about what happened to who fell victim to her touch, or rather, what Fish made them do and she didn't want to become one of them. 

"Oh?" Fish tilted her head with surprised amusement and took a new step forward. "So you did try to drug me, didn't you little whore?" She scoffed, "I'm so glad to disappoint, now c'mere!" The woman tried to snatch Ivy's wrist but the girl managed to pull away just in time. What she didn't manage to do was notice the open window right behind her. She was also unable to keep her balance and stop herself from falling back with a scream. 

It took Ivy a few second to recover enough from the fall to open her eyes and look into multicolored ones staring at her from several feets above with something akin to a smirk. "We have an intruder!" Fish shouted, "catch her and bring her to me! I want to know what she knows." 

The girl tried to get to her feet but all she managed to do was bite her lower lip enough to contain a scream as warm tears rolled down her cheeks. She ignored the ringing in her ears and looked at her own body. The ginger nearly screamed again. Both of her legs and her left arm were twisted into an angle human legs weren't supposed to achieve. She could actually see the mess of ruptured muscles and snapped bones being held together by a thread of skin and flesh. 

Before Ivy had much of a chance to deliberate on her new condition any further, she noticed shadows approaching in the distance. It was hard to make up features with the lights dancing in her vision and the tears in her eyes, but they seemed to be human shaped and they were definitely getting closer. Ivy looked at the river next to her and then at her attackers. With her last bit of strength, she dragged herself into the river. 

**\---**

"Wakey wakey." Edward groaned and rubbed his eyes as he heard the familiar voice say that. The man turned to the side and brought the pillow over his face to try and get some more sleep. "C'mon, Eddie, you know what they say, the early bird catches the worm," with an annoyed exale, the man sat up on the couch and slipped his glasses into place before looking at the figure right in front of him. "There you go," Oswald said with a toothy grin. 

Of course Edward knew this wasn't the real Oswald. No, his former best friend had been dead for two weeks now. This was merely an illusion created by his mind with the help of drugs . After a moment adjusting to the light, Edward stood up and made his way to the bathroom to start his daily routine. "What? Not even a good morning? Now, that's cold, Eddie." He slammed the door closed and leaned against the wood to take a deep breath. Finally, some peace. "You do realize you can't lock me out, right?" With no haste, Edward turned to look at his smaller friend. He didn't look a single day older than the last time he saw him. Even his clothes were exactly the same. This was a perfect copy created by a perfect memory and a broken mind. 

"Can I have one moment of privacy?" The tall man asked, his voice was still hoarse from sleep. 

"Oh, of course." Oswald's voice dripped with sarcasm turned around and stared at the wall. That was probably the best Edward was getting. 

After one hour in the bathroom, Edward made his way to his bedroom with just a towel around his waist. He heard whistling, "you look much better like this than with that ugly green suit of yours." 

"You look much better when you are silent," Edward grumbled and swiftly walked to his closet before pulling his usual green three piece suit and bowler hat. 

"You keep saying that but you keep taking the pills. Even stranger, you keep on seeing little old me instead of either of your girlfriends. Have you ever deliberated on that?" Oswald asked with a bat of his eyelashes. 

"Yes, and there is a simple and obvious explanation." Edward turned to look at him, now fully dressed. 

"Oh?" The hallucination seemed legitimately surprise by his response. He stood up and got closer to Edward with one single step. They were an inch apart now. Normally the specs wearing male would feel uncomfortable with this closeness however, he knew that was the effect the mirror image of his best friend was going for, "and what is your conclusion?" He spoke smoothly while bringing his hands to brush against his shoulders. He was a perfect copy, from the amount of freckles decorating his cheekbones to the lines in the edge of his lips that formed whenever he smiled, and yet, he was empty. Flawed. Like a mirror, he could only reflect but never truly interact with him. His hands lacked any heat or weight. He could see them but never feel. It was almost disappointing, not that he would ever admit it. 

"Of course I miss you more than either of them," he pulled away and turned to close the closet, "Isabella wished nothing more than to trick and use me while Kristen, well," he looked down with sadness, "she was a mistake. One I don't intend on repeating. Oswald, despite all of his flaws, made me the person I am today. He saw the real me and wasn't horrified by it, in fact, even when I turned my back on him, he still took me back with open arms. He was truly a great friend and I miss him very deeply. But that isn't why you are here," even if he couldn't see him, Edward could tell what he wanted to hear. The annoyed grunt coming from the spectre made the taller male smile. 

"Then why?" Oswald inquired in a much more familiar tone to the original version. 

Edward turned on his heels to look at his best friend's unimpressed expression. "Now that is more like Oswald," the ghost scoffed, "you see," he pushed his glasses over the bridge of his nose as he made his way to the living room, "you are a reminder. A living personification of my promise to avenge my dead friend." Ed winced slightly as a thunder stroke down. He made sure to close all the windows in the mansion as he made his way downstairs. Storms had been a common occurrence this past month which wasn't exactly uncommon in Gotham. 

"You do realize that won't bring him back, right?" Oswald asked as he waited for Edward while leaning against the leather couch. 

"I know," he walked towards the television and turned it on, "but I can make sure they never forget us," Ed said with his eyes fixated on the News. It showed Aubrey James surrounded by a crowd as he was given his job as mayor once again. "Look at them gathering around that idiot like moths blindly flying towards the light. After everything we've done, that he did, they just go back to that nincompoop and dismiss all of Oswald's accomplishments. He was the one that allowed this city to be tormented by the likes of Galavan and Falcone while we brought all crimes to a new low. Oswald protected this city from monsters while he grew richer by stealing from the poor. We had a clean, honest election and he bought every single important figure to make sure he got this position. We made a change and how do they thank us? By brushing Oswald's murder aside and going back to their old, flawed and stagnant ways." Edward looked back at the illusion, "they didn't appreciate it when the Penguin ruled over them with love," he said lowly and looked back at the television, "perhaps fear will stick into their minds better. That's how I will avenge him starting with the bastard that dared to take his life." 

Oswald appeared next to him with his eyes fixed on the television, "let me guess, we are going to go see her again." 

"Yes, we are. Hopefully she will tell us something useful this time." Edward narrowed his eyes. 

"Let's at least eat something first, I'm starving and I can't even be hungry." 

"Finally," he looked at the ghost with a small grin, "I was waiting for a good idea." 

**\---**

Bruce had no right to actually look this cute, specially as he laid on his desk covered in murder reports and newspapers that shared the death motif, and yet, Selina couldn't help but smirk at how the faint sunlight coming from the thick clouds gathering on the sky shined through the window and made his fair skin glisten under the layers of messy black hair. She grabbed one of the more recent newspapers, one with Penguin's death in the front page as the main story. "Let me guess, you think that Penguin's death has something to do with the death of your parents." She said with a sassy snort. 

Bruce slowly straightened his back and rubbed his face before looking at the woman. "Selina?" He asked with tiredness and confusion present in his voice, quite a different tone from his usual stern brooding mood. 

"That's my name, don't waste it." She watched him stretch and fix his black turtleneck sweater before standing up to properly greet her. 

"I didn't expect seeing you here, specially this early."

"Yeah, I can tell you've been very," she looked around the messy room and could tell how ashamed the boy was immediately, "busy. Did you find anything useful?"

"No, not yet." Bruce answered while gathering some of the papers in his desk and putting them to the side where they wouldn't be able to make him seem even messier than they already did. They also made him seem even more of a detective. 

"That sucks, anyways, since you ain't doing anything, think you could help me with something?" Selina spoke quickly while crossing her arms and swaying her hips to the side. She hated asking for help but she was starting to get desperate, even if she wasn't willing to show and Bruce knew that. The boy immediately left the papers on the desk and stepped in front of her. 

"Uh, sure, what is it?" Wow, he was actually less hesitant than she had expected. The girl was sure she would need at least a bit more to make Bruce abandon his pointless crusade to find the murderers of his parents. She supposed he deserved more credit than she gave him. 

"It's Ivy. We had a fight and she just disappeared." Selina had her eyes on her feet as she spoke. 

"It's Ivy, Selina. She will come around. This isn't the first time she does that. " He tried to assure her but it only made her madder. The female looked into his eyes with her head tilted slightly. 

"Don't you think I know that? But it's been four months, Bruce. Sure, she disappeared before for jobs and whatever but never that long, specially without leaving a note or something!" She moved her hand as she spoke for emphasis. 

Bruce brought his in front of his body defensively. "Alright, alright, I got it. Do you think something happened? What did you two fight about?"

Selina sighed and looked up. "I was working for Fish. She found out and wanted to hand her over to Penguin for cash and I said no. She called me stupid, I called her childish and we didn't speak to eachother for a while but I still saw her around until she vanished one night." 

"Well, maybe she's avoiding you?" Bruce tried. 

"Kid, you're really not helping," Selina turned towards the window, "if you're not gonna help, then I'll find someone who will."

"Calm down, Selina, I'm just trying to understand, besides, I'm not exactly a professional. Did you try talking to Jim?"

"Duh! But he thought the same thing as you and apparently captain perfect is way too busy with his own personal problems."

Bruce seemed worried. "What do you mean?"

She shrugged. "Dunno. Apparently some magician had got his sister killed and blamed Gordon so now they are playing cat and mouse or so I heard. Besides, I don't have enough money to hire him."

Selina noticed Bruce's lips curving into a frown for a moment, but it disappear as soon as it appeared and his face was back to blank and unreadable save for a hint of worry. "I assume you already tried the places she normally goes to, have you tried Fish's hideout or wherever you'd meet her normally?" 

Selina rubbed the back of her neck. "No. Not really, I was trying to avoid going there to be honest," the thief mumbled the last part. 

"That's probably our best lead then," Bruce said while grabbing his thick black overcoat from the chair he slept on. 

Selina was surprised, "wait, you're coming?"

"Of course, if you're hiring me to solve this case, I will see it through." He said with sass. The girl wished she could say this bothered her or give him a reason as to why he should stay, but she was actually relieved she wouldn't be going alone. Bruce could be very reliable when he wanted to. 

"Fine, but try not to slow me down," both of them looked towards the door as they heard someone clean his throat first. Alfred, of course. He wore his usual suit and impeccable posture as he looked at both teens. 

"How about breakfast first?" 

**\---**

Barbara turned to look at her girlfriend and best friend with a martini still in her hands. "What do you think?"

"I don't know," Tabitha tapped her finger against her cheek. Her tight leather pants and top left little to the imagination and her dark raven hair was tied back in a ponytail. Her make up screamed hot and dangerous, ah, how Barbara loved her. "I like the determined look in her face but she seems too delicate to handle anything like this."

Barbara grinned with perfect white teeth and crossed her legs which were quite exposed under the glittery pink dress she wore. It wasn't a long dress by any means, it was made to be provocative. "You heard the lady," she said and licked the wet part of the umbrella while looking at this new girl. Well, not exactly new. Barbara had seen her with Jim before, she definitely looked like his current type: long dark hair, pretty, delicate but with a fierce look in her face. The blonde woman was pretty sure she was a reporter with a rather stupid name. Something with two Vs. 

"What?!" The V lady asked completely undignified, a funny look that made Barbara laugh, "are you really going to just let Jim die?! Don't you care about him?!"

"Not really, and if you're smart, you shouldn't either." Barbara said and tried to drink from her glass but was surprised to have it snatched from her hand, "do you have a death wish?" 

"If you were going to kill me, you'd have done it when I arrived. There's clearly something that you want, otherwise you wouldn't have let me speak." The V girl said and Barbara tilted her head. She had a bit of an attitude, she could get behind that. The blonde lady leaned in closer and looked into her brown eyes with blue ones. 

"How about the same offer I made for him? A kiss and I will tell you what I-" before Barbara could finish, soft cherry flavored lips were pressed against hers. For once, Barbara Kean was left with not much reaction. Yep, she definitely liked this one better than Lee. She almost felt bad for not remembering her name. 

"Oh dear," an annoyingly familiar voice spoke forcing Barbara to break away the kiss before she even got a chance to enjoy it. She turned her head to look at Nygma's smug grin. As per usual, he wore that scandalously awful green suit and that stupid bowler hat, "ladies, please, don't let my presence interrupt you. I certainly don't mind waiting." 

"What do to want, Nygma?" Tabitha asked lowly just as bothered by his presence. 

"Are you done mourning over your fallen bird?" Barbara added with a smile that only grew wider as his faded. He was still very much not over it. "What is that?" The blonde decided to humor him while looking at the green bag he had been carrying. 

"Right," Nygma turned around and opened the bag to reveal, not just any man, but the cretin that thought it was fine to mess with her girls just because he was a regular and spent a rather large amount in expensive drinks. One of those kids with rich parents who thought he owned everything. He wasn't even that ugly, his blond hair was cute when it wasn't covered in sweat and blood like that. Eddie had done quite some work on him already, "there, that's your guy. Now tell me what you know."

Barbara really didn't like the tone Edward used. She hated to be ordered around like that. The woman brought a finger to her lips and cocked her head to the side as she pretended to think. "I don't know, it still seems too little, wouldn't you agree Tabby? I mean, this was clearly too easy."

Tabitha's lips bent upwards followed by a snicker, "I agree. Besides, he still has too much of an attitude."

Edward's fists and teeth clenches to the point his knuckles turned white. He walked forward until he was looming over Tabitha who seemed unamused. Perhaps his tall height would be more intimidating if he didn't look like a lightpost wearing glasses, "this is the third guy I bring you and you still haven't given me anything in return. I'm starting to grow impati-" 

He was interrupted by a hand shaking his. It was almost comical to see his face to shift from anger to confusion to flustered as he realized the reporter was shaking his hand, "you must be Edward Nygma, the late mayor Cobblepot's chief of staff," before poor Eddie was given a chance to answer, the woman continued, "Valerie Vale, is it true that the mayor's alleged suicide was, in fact a murder? Do you have any idea who could be behind these and do you think the current mayor James had anything to do with it?"

"I, uh," Edward looked at his feet as he tried to remember how words worked. A hilarious sight, really. She guessed somethings never changed. 

Edward clearly didn't appreciate Barbara laughing at him and shot her a glare. "Oh, don't mind Eddie, he might act confident but deep down he's still shy around new people. How about you let me deal with him and then we finish our little talk?" The blonde winked at the raven haired female who didn't seem affected by the suggestion. 

Vale very clearly didn't want to leave, she had that curious spark in her eyes like a shark hungry for information. For a moment, Barbara thought she'd have to use of harsher methods but the woman decided to cooperate. "Very well, but you won't get rid of me so easily." She said and actually winked towards the two women with a seductive smirk before leaving with Barbara's drink. For once, the couple were left speechless. 

"Ok, I really like that one." Tabitha said giving emphasis to the third word before biting her lips.

Barbara was about to agree but was interrupted by a certain tall jackass cleaning his throat. "Can we please get back to what is important here?!"

Oh, leave it to Ed to ruin everything that is fun. Barbara's eyes turned in their sockets before focusing on the male. "Yes, so very important. Like I said, Eddie, this is valuable information and the people you've brought me aren't really worth it," she put a hand on her hips. "One more job and then we will give it to you, k?"

Edward took a deep breath. "Fine. One more. Make it count."

Barbara hummed as she thought but no one came to mind. She looked at the dark skinned woman for some ideas. The two exchanged a look before Tabitha moved her shoulders dismissively, "how about Selina? Apparently she was seen around Butch's nephew's place again and he's worried she's up to no good. 'Sides, I kinda miss her." 

Barbara wasn't keen on doing Butch a favor. It was already bad enough that he was living with them after Tabitha practically begged her to. Personally, she believed Oswald had a point when kicking him out. This man had an awful habit to interfere in people's relationships. Unfortunately, as Tabitha had found out, the blonde had a hard time saying no to her best friend, "fiiiine, bring us Selina. Alive. And don't hurt her too much." She leaned over the counter to look for a new drink after hers had been stolen. 

"A street kid?" Eddie asked in delicious disbelief," You do realize I could get you anyone you want and you are going to waste that on an orphan? Do you know who I am?! The things I did and could do?!"

This was an affront to Nygma's ego it showed. Oh, it showed and the grin was back to her lips wider than ever. Perhaps this wasn't such an awful idea. "oh, I know exactly who you are," she grabbed a bottle of champagne and stood up. Slowly, the woman approached Edward with a swing of her hips and with each step every muscle of his body seemed to clench even more. Thanks to her thin high heels, she could almost look into his eyes without tilting her head up, "you are Ozzie's old lap dog, who no longer has a lap to rely on. Now you are trying your best in the hopes someone will throw you a bone," she stopped a few inches away from his face and looked deep into his chocolate iris. She could tell he was trying to keep the cold logician façade. The woman wondered how much it would take for him to explode. She continued with a smooth and low pitch, "unfortunately for you, this is Gotham and no one really cares about strays." She watched as he pursed his lips together and took a deep breath, he never broke eye contact however, "remember that, Eddie, and either bring me Selina or find someone else willing to hear you bark. Champagne?" The woman turned and poured the liquid onto two glasses, neither of which were intended for the specs wearing male. 

"When is that no man ever yet did see, which never was and always will be?" Edward replied calmly, or so he tried to be but the way his muscles tensed up proved the woman had gotten into his head. 

"I don't care," she replied with her eyes turned to the door. 

"It's tomorrow. You will have the girl by then and I better get my answers or you will regret it," the man spun on his heels and stormed out of room with the threat still lingering in the air. He slammed the door after him. 

"That was unnecessarily mean," Tabitha grabbed the glass with the fuzzy drink and brought it to her lips. 

"Trust me, it was necessary. Nygma's ego is actually bigger than his brain and, in this city, that's exactly what gets you killed. I don't imagine Ozzie would have wanted his love interest to follow him so soon, or maybe he would, who knows," Barbara lifted her glass and observed as it gently touched her girlfriend's with a 'tink'. 

"You don't think someone was actually dumb enough to kill Oswald though, right?" Tabitha took a sip. 

Barbara rose and dropped her shoulders, "what I do know is that a storm is brewing somewhere here in Gotham and Oswald was smart enough to know penguins can't fly," she took a sip of her own drink and faced the other with a more suggestive face, "now, how about you get rid of our little gift and I call the reporter back inside for a little one on one on one interview?" 

The other shared the looked on her face, "I will get the pen and the paper ready."

**\---**

When Selina warned him about this place, Bruce thought she had been exaggerating but based on the stench around the area and the lack of life altogether, he realized how wrong he had been. The smell coming from the river next to the building burnt his nostrils more and more the closer they got to the mansions. It had four floors and he imagined it used to look much better before it was consumed by the gases coming from the body of water along with time overall. It was shameful to know Wayne enterprises had been behind this along with so many other disasters around Gotham. Lucius said his father was a good man but sometimes he couldn't help but wonder how much of it was true. There was no way he had been kept in the dark about all of this. 

The rain had finally caught up with them leaving both minors soaking wet, not that either of them minded. In fact, it was a good way to hide their track just in case, although he highly doubted anyone had bothered to follow them there. Most people who saw two teenagers going in a prohibited area likely thought they just wanted to fool around and no one cared enough to stop them or save them from the consequences. 

Selina pushed the creaky door. It let them in with little fight. "That's surprising. They must have left in a hurry," Bruce said while taking a good look at the wooden device. 

The female with amber hair shrugged, "after Fish ran away and the others were either killed or captured, all the other escapees left as fast as they could with anything they were able to carry. Your 'buddy' Bullock took the rest as 'evidence' under Penguin's order and the little that was left likely got stolen by whatever guy desperate enough to come this far for money."

Bruce could see what she meant. The place was practically empty except for the furniture far too heavy to carry and useless garbage not worth a penny. He grabbed his flashlight from inside his coat and pointed it under a cushionless couch. The boy bent down to look underneath it generating a scoff from his partner, "I highly doubt Ivy will be there."

He stood back up and shined the flashlight on her face. She flinched. "No, but clues might be," he showed her an empty pack of cigarettes. 

"Wow," she said unimpressed, "you just foud out someone that smoked was around here. Bravo detective boy." She snatched it from his hand and pushed the light away. 

The loud crashing of a thunder filled the air and underneath it, Bruce noticed another sound. He aimed the flashlight to the ceiling. "What? Are you going to interrogate the roaches now?"

"Shhh," he tried to focus on the faint sound. 

"What? Don't shush-", he put his hand over her mouth as another sound reverberated. She looked at him with surprise but didn't move. He waited a moment and there it was again. Footsteps. They were a bit louder now. 

There was someone there with them. 

Bruce let go of his friend and pointed his finger up. Selina nodded and allowed him to go first since he had their only source of light. He slowly made his way up the stairs to avoid any unwanted noises. Sure, this could be some crackhead looking for a place away from society just like it could be something else. 

The second option became much more likely as he noticed a question mark as soon as they arrived in the second floor. The symbol had been recently drawn with a green marker. It didn't ring any bells. Bruce looked at the older girl and she shook her head with just as little knowledge as he did. 

Several other near identical marks had been drawn to their left leading them inside a room. This was obviously a trap, however they couldn't just ignore this. Bruce continued to lead as they sneaked towards the room where a single golden question mark trophy stood. "Bruce, don't. Let's get out of here," the girl whispered into his ear and locked eyes with him for a moment before making his way in. 

Bruce's heart was beating fast and every single muscle neuron in his brain screamed that this was a trap and yet he couldn't resist it. His curiosity was stronger than his sense of self preservation. It always had been. He bent down to investigate the object and noticed the small holes on the curve far too late as a gas was sprayed onto his face. 

"Bruce!" Selina screeched. He tried to look at her and immediately regretted it as the action was all that took to make his already spinning head meet the hard wood composing the floor.

The boy must have blacked out for a few seconds, because once he recovered his senses, Selina was screaming something incomprehensible into his ringing ears. The girl was so worried she didn't even notice the grinning figure looming over her. Before he could say anything, the golden question mark on one of the ends of the man's green staff came in contact with her neck. As electricity coursed from the symbol to her skin, the female screamed and convulsed before falling on the floor next to Bruce. 

He still couldn't move but he was aware enough to recognize their attacker. "Well, well, well, would you look at this. Two brats for the price of one. The street cat," he pointed his weapon at the female who still jerked slightly before turning to the younger male, "and Brucie. Oh my, is this young love that I smell?" The slim figure chuckled. 

"N-nygma," Selina hissed through clenched teeth, "what the hell are you doing here?! Where's Ivy?!"

"I'm afraid I have no idea as to why you're so interested in Hedera, Cat, but it appears you've scratched where you shouldn't have and now Butch and, therefore, Barbara, are after you. If you're wondering how I got to this case, a little bird told me you used to work for fish so it only made sense that this should be the twelfth to look for you and, would you look at that, I was right." Nygma clarified. 

"Why the hell are you working for Barbara?! Are you still looking into Penguin's suicide?!" The gold came in contact with her skin again causing her to yelp in pain and arch her back. Bruce yelled for him to stop. 

"It was NOT a suicide!" He barked in a low tone, "Oswald was assassinated and NO ONE in this city is bothering to look into it so why should I care about any of you?!" He pointed at the brunette, "you're lucky I was instructed to bring you back alive, Cat, but no one said anything about your billionaire boyfriend, so unless you find his dead body more valuable than an alive one, I recommend that you cooperate." Edward snarled and got on one knee. He produced a rope from his green suit and got Selina on her back to tie her up. 

If what Selina had said was right then all of this was Bruce's fault. Well, more so than it already was anyways. He knew Nygma and Penguin had some sort of connection, however, he had no idea it went this deep. Sure, he wasn't the sanest person before but now he was completely out of his mind. Due to the effects of the gas, the teenager was in no condition to fight and his friend wasn't in a much better state. The right thing to do would be to confess to his crimes. He'd be be killed without a doubt, and not without reason, even so, there was no telling if it would be enough to appease his fury. There was a good chance he would harm Selina as well and then go after Alfred. He wouldn't allow that. 

"You are right," Bruce finally mumbled with a weak hoarse tone and attempted to sit up with a grunt, "it wasn't a suicide."

Both Selina and Nygma looked at Bruce wide eyed. "What?!" They both spoke at the same time. 

"The building belonged to my company, I obviously did my own investigation in case anyone wanted to press charges. Apparently, after killing the mayor, the culprit hid in one of the houses in the block. House number 149 I believe. I have more, but you'll have to let us go first." Bruce remembered seeing that house which was completely abandoned. At least this would give him some time and no one would get hurt. Hopefully. Edward still seemed hesitant though, "I doubt anything Barbara promised you will be this useful."

The ex-Arkham inmate seemed to consider it for one moment more before freeing Selina. For a moment the boy thought she would attack Nygma for sure but she actually glared at her partner. He apologized with his eyes until their attacker cleaned his throat and folded his arms, "I don't have an antidote for the gas but it should wear out in an hour. Now speak, Brucie."

"Some of the witnesses claimed to have heard yelling and fighting in the building followed by a gunshot. Most agree that it was likely from a shotgun. How's that?" Bruce defied the man with a slight sideways smirk. 

Edward didn't react much at first. He held his chin as he processed the information before nodding, "that is quite useful. I won't forget that the next time we meet, Brucie," and without another word, their agressor grabbed the trophy and left them alone. 

"You shouldn't lie through your teeth, specially to psychos like him. That's the kind of shit that gets you killed, Bruce," Selina tried to sound bothered by the whole exchange but he could tell she was worried. 

"I know, but I couldn't just let him take you away," his words were soft, but they were enough. 

"Shut up, Wayne," the girl said quickly as she jumped to her feet. He noticed her eyes avoided his, "the next time there's very clearly a trap, don't run towards it like an idiot." Before he could reply, Selina left the room.

Wayne sighed and looked at a crack in front of him. His crime had come back to haunt him. Because of his hasty actions, a man was that and another was out for blood which could end up being that of the people dearest him. Perhaps the worst part of it all was how he couldn't even judge Edward's actions, he was as much in the wrong as Bruce had been and now he deserved whatever punishment was coming down his way. 

Another loud thunder stroke down as the rain poured outside. Bruce laid down and closed his eyes to wait for the poison to leave his body. 

**\---**

He took a deep breath. The pain he had been feeling for what felt like years finally started to subside and, with it, so did the darkness. The first thing he heard as he was pulled back from the cage his own had become was the loud strike of a thunder in the distance followed by the calming noise of rain hitting the roof and windows. He slowly opened his eyes slightly and took a moment to get used to the light even it was dim. After blinking a few times and fighting back the urge to go back to sleep, the male groaned and attempted to sit up. His entire body protested but he didn't let that stop him. 

"Woah, easy there," he heard a high pitched voice say, one he didn't recognize and turned to look at its source. Standing there next to the bed was a young girl somewhere around ten and thirteen years of age. She had long voluptuous red hair and pale white skin covered in freckles. The young lady wore a green hoodie that proved to be far too large on her petit body and raggedy jeans. "Your wounds are still healing. That was a very nasty fall, it was a miracle you even survived."

He stared at her with narrowed eyes for a minute before bursting into laughter. He must have looked like a maniac based on the look the girl gave him. "What's so funny?"

Oswald's laughter turned into a twisted grin exposing all of his sharp teeth. "I just remembered there is someone I need to kill."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Am I the only one who hates what they did to Ivy? I still don't get why they had to age her up, besides fanservice, but you know. 
> 
> I also decided to give Ed some more toys for him to play with and Oswald is back, hurray! Not so much angst in this chapter either. I hope y'all like action. There will be quite a lot of that in the future ;) 
> 
> Feedback is appreciated and I love reading comments =D


	4. How the Riddler got his name

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Drinkin' Again by Frank Sinatra
> 
> Drinkin' again and thinkin' of when, when you loved me  
I'm havin' a few and wishin' that you were here  
Makin' the rounds, accepting a round from strangers  
Bein' a fool just hopin' that you'll appear  
Sure, I can borrow a smoke, maybe tell some joker a bad joke  
But nobody laughs, they don't laugh at a broken heart  
Oh, yeah, I'm drinkin' again, it's always the same  
That same old story  
After the kicks there's little old mixed-up me  
Tryin' to lose a dream that used to be  
Look at me, I'm drinkin' again, drinkin' all over town  
Yeah, I'm drinkin' again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The mature rating rating is strong in this one, so be warned. Nothing too explicit or detailed but the context is there. 
> 
> I hope everyone had amazing a great Christmas and an amazing New Year.

Vicki had heard of the stories about journalists being kidnapped by mustache twirling villains before however she always believed those to be precautionary tales to scare away the newbies. She never expected to suffer such fate herself, and yet, there she was chained up to a chair wearing a blue dress that certainly didn't belong to her as a man who dressed himself as a character straight out of Alice in wonderland waited for her kind of boyfriend to arrive so he could kill him for the death of his sister. How was she supposed to know Barbara was sending her to a trap when she asked her to assist her Ex? In retrospect, she was glad no one would be able to answer that question since the answer would make her look like an idiot.

It had been twenty minutes since the woman had woken up and she still hadn't seen her captor much less her possible savior. The dress smelled of death, sweat and possibly even urine leading her to believe she wasn't the first one to wear it. This guy wasn't just a fiend but a cheap one at that. In front of her was a dining table set in a way which reminded her of tea time and the book by Charles Lutwidde Dodgson. There were ten seats by the table, four on the right, four on the left and one seat on each end. Seven of the seats had skeletons on them and the dark haired female could imagine these weren't just decoration. The seat she was trapped in was on the right next to the end closest to the door. Vale assumed the seat next to her was reserved for Jim and the last one belonged to the mad hatter himself. The rest of the warehouse appeared to be mostly empty save for the obvious dirt and dust everywhere. There were no knives and the forks were far too small for her to even consider using them as weapons. Her best bet would be breaking a plate and using a shard as a weapon. Just as she was working on kicking the flat porcelain out of the table, the metal door opened and Jim Gordon came inside as the valiant white knight he was known for being. A part of Vicki was disappointed, she had wanted to escape on her own but she supposed this was preferable to possibly failing and dying.

Upon landing his eyes on the woman, Jim rushed to her side and looked her over, "are you ok? Did he hurt you?"

"No, he didn't hurt me," Vale didn't bother answering the first question seeing as how she was pretty sure, given the circumstances, she was not ok. Jim seemed invested in trying to remove the chains with his bare hands which proved as affective as one would have expected, "Tetch has the keys, you should probably just shoot them."

"Can't," Jim said and met her eyes with apologetic ones, "he made me get rid of my gun before I got here."

"Shit," she muttered while looking at a random crack on the floor. There goes their chance of escaping. 

"Hey," Jim gently took her chin and pulled it up so she would face him once more, "I have a plan, Lucius gave me something. Do you trust me?"

Trust was something awfully difficult to come by in Gotham. If you misplaced it you would likely lose everything you had and yet, she thought less than she had expected to answer, "I do."

"Finally," a voice spoke and they both turned to see Jervis Tetch standing in one of the corners. She had no idea how he had gotten there, the woman just hoped the hypnotist hadn't heard what Jim had said, "please, Jim, do take a seat." A creepy grin spread over his face as his two gloved hands met each other. His long black hair fell over his shoulders while his top hat rose up high. He wore a black overcoat and bowtie to go along with the costume. 

Jim looked at Vicki one more time before sitting down, "I did what you wanted, Tetch, now let her go. It's me that you want."

"See," the insane man sat down, "I can't do that, Jim. I want to make you suffer by destroying you hold dear just like you did to me when you killed my dear Alice."

"I didn't kill her, Tetch. She died trying to escape from you. She hated you and she had all the reason-"

"SHUT UP!" Jervis pulled a gun from within his coat and pointed it at Jim. The ex cop didn't even flinch, always the brave and defiant man. 

"Go ahead, shoot if you truly think it will bring you closure," Jim spoke lowly. 

Tetch seemed to consider it for a second before lowering his gun, "no. I have a better plan," the villain opened his arms, "look around you, Jim. Do you know who these skeletons are?" The private investigator squinted without looking away from him, "they are all people you failed. A recently married couple that met their happily ever after too soon, a good cop who was killed before his time, an old couple who wanted to enjoy their few more years in this earth together. All dead because you failed to save them. How does this make you feel?" 

"Is this what you had planned? Showing me the people you murdered during your insane game? You're the one to blame for their deaths, Tetch, not me," despite his words Vicki could see he was afflicted by the morbid guests based on how tightly he was gripping the armrests of the chair. 

"Jim," she said gently and managed to draw his attention. There was anger in his eyes aimed at both the Mad Hatter and himself, "It's not your fault."

"Oh, I assure you this is not all, in fact, we're still missing one guest. Why don't we let him in?" Jervis pointed towards the door theatrically. Vicki wasn't sure who she expected to see but Harvey Bullock certainly wasn't it. The brunette mentally cursed as the man walked towards them. Despite Jim's unceasing calls, the man continued to walk to his master unblinking. 

"What the hell do you think you're doing, Tetch?! This is going too far! Don't you think someone will notice if a respected cop just disappears?!" Jim slammed his hands on the table.

Jervis chuckled, "oh wouldn't you know it, Bullock called in earlier sick," he threw his shoulders in the air with a maniacal grin covering his face, "now, as you may have noticed we don't have enough chairs for everyone, which is why you will have to make a choice, Jim Gordon," he aimed the gun at the woman, "should we get rid of your pretty lady and give her spot to Bullock or," he turned the pistol to the larger man, "should we keep things as they are and take care of the pig instead? Quite a conundrum, isn't it? Should you choose the woman you love or the man who is closer to you than your brother?"

Vicki knew this wasn't even a question. Bullock was the one cop Jim respected and truly admired. They were more than just best friends, they were partners and she was just the woman Jim would fuck occasionally. Sure, they had had fun together but their relationship didn't go further than that. She was dying here. 

Jim didn't say anything, he merely continued to glare daggers at their enemy, "it's ok, Jim," he turned to look at her, "I know how much Bullock means to you. You don't have to feel guilty about it or anything, I knew what I was getting into," the woman looked into his eyes with proud eyes and a smirk as she repressed back the tears, "and I don't regret a single second of it. Besides the part i got captured. You were right, your ex sucks."

Jim's expression remained impartial, determined even. The brunette let her eyes fall to her lap as she nodded slightly and waited for her fate. What she didn't expect was the comforting hand that took hers and squeezed it, "I told you before," he whispered, "I have a plan," he stood up much for hers and the villain's confusion and reached inside his suit, "this is your last chance, Tetch. Give yourself in and you won't get hurt. I'll even make sure you have a proper trial."

"Don't play games, Jim," he pointed the gun at Bullock.

"Maybe you will," Jim pulled out a pen from his pocket, "but are you really that scared of a pen?"

Jervis lowered his gun in confusion and blinked, "what?"

"Because you should be," he threw the pen at the male with a goatee, who noticed the quickly blinking lights a little too late. He didn't have enough time to react before the pen exploded on his face. He fell back and Jim lost no time hopping on the table. He ran towards the raven haired man before tackling him. 

The whole ordeal seemed to have been enough to snap Bullock back, "what the-? Where-? Jim, holy shit!"

"Help Vicki!" The private investigator yelled as he punched his torturer across the face. 

"On it!" A still very confused Bullock answered and quickly made his way next to the woman. Meanwhile, Jervis managed to hit Jim in the face with his elbow giving him enough space to stand up and run away.

The blond man cursed as he grabbed the gun left behind and stood up, "stay with the girl!" He yelled as he began his chase. 

Vicki and Bullock could just watch as the other two disappeared behind the metal door and hope Gotham's boy scout came out on top. 

**\---**

"Just admit that the kid tricked you, Edward. There's no shame in admitting defeat, well, besides to the person admitting defeat," the hallucination said as it sat next to Edward. The taller man made of actual flesh and blood observed the same house the Wayne kid had told him about, just like how he had been doing for the past week. 

The house was just as abandoned as its neighbors. The paint had since long withered away and replaced by indecent drawings and writings. The windows had been broken and the dust all around was an indicator that no one had been in that place for over a year. Of course Edward had gone inside and the place appeared to be just as empty as it was in the outside. A sane person would take that as their lead to leave, however the ex forensic scientist was convinced there was more than met the eyes, "have a little more faith my nonexistent friend. I may or may not have shared some of the information Bruce gave us as well as what we already had with miss Vale and the useless pigs of the GCPD. Now we just have to wait and watch as the killer comes back to dispose of any possible new evidence. It's like cheese for a rat." He said before focusing on the house once more. 

"And you are so convinced it will work, huh? No one in the GCPD believed you and Vale will want something juicier than a rope and the words of a panicked kid as, you know, most do," Edward rolled his eyes briefly. Once he looked outside once again, Oswald was standing there between him and the house, "how about we try focusing on why you are so obsessed with Oswald's murder?"

"I told you before," Edward didn't pay him much attention and tried to look behind the phantom. 

The ghost insisted on staying there, "yes, I understand revenge and all that buy that still doesn't explain why I'm here and why you're still living in his mansion."

"I told you before, I miss the company of someone as intellectually advanced as me and Oswald was the closest thing to that. Besides, I don't really have anywhere else to go." 

"Well, you could sell it or use some of Oswald's money to buy your own mansion just the way you want it, but instead you've excluded yourself from the world. Edward, you've stopped eating properly and you barely sleep anymore. You are restless unless you are working on this case!" Oswald chuckled and threw his arms into the air as he spoke, "there is revenge and then there is this!"

Edward took a deep breath and left the car. The man began walking towards the house leaving the spectre behind. He tried to act as if the only reason as to why he was mad was because Oswald was on the way but it was hard to lie to yourself, "I just find this to be interesting. I didn't expect the killer to be so skilled."

"No, Edward, you just have a hard time seeing what is in front of you," Edward stopped his heavy steps and stood there in the cold starless night while listening. "Oswald was the only person who understood you and saw you for who you were, yes, but that wasn't all. You were always fascinated by him since the very first time you saw him in the newspapers. Those weeks where you two were living together were the happiest you had for a long time until they lost their spot for when you two were working together. Do you remember how glad you were when you saw him out of Arkham? And how heartbroken you felt when you realized that wasn't him? You treated him terribly but Oswald still took you in when he had absolutely no need to. You promised you'd believe in him even when he wouldn't believe in himself but you still turned his back on him and this happened," Edward stayed silent and with his head low. The ghost appeared in front of him, "just admit it, Edward. Yes, you do miss him but you also feel guilty for the things you did, the things you said. More importantly, you regret not telling him that you-" 

"I need to get more pills from the GCPD," Edward interrupted him and closed the metal box he carried with him before returning it to his pocket. 

Oswald blinked a couple of times in disbelief, "really? We were about make a breakthrough and you interrupt me to tell yourself to get more random pills?!" The shorter man yelled annoyed.

"They are not random, they are very hard to come by and may I remind you without those pills you wouldn't be here." 

"Just get a substitute from the drugstore!" 

"You know they don't work. It has to be these ones specifically."

"Ugh," Oswald rolled his eyes, "whatever, back to what I was trying to say, you-," he was interrupted once again. 

"Wait, did you hear that?" Edward asked and looked up. 

"Hear what? My patience running thin?! Yeah, I can hear that very well!"

"No, be silent!" He ordered and for once the bird like male obeyed. The sound was distant and muffled however Edward could identify the sound of screams anywhere. He turned to look into Oswald's eyes and grinned, "it seems that our mice has finally come back for the cheese," he followed after the sound.

**\---**

Oswald knew he wasn't exactly what most would consider attractive, but he had always liked his eyes. They weren't exactly blue nor green. They were unique, mysterious and unreadable much like how Oswald had wished be, however the pair of iris looking back at the Penguin in the mirror were as green as the plants his savior liked to keep around. Ivy had told him he had been lucky to survive. Most people wouldn't have reacted to the seeds or whatever the hell she had used on him as well. He was even able to walk already, granted, not much and it hurt more than the first time his leg was split in half by his enraged boss. Yes, he was very lucky, he had always been and along with his cleverness and incredible ability to bullshit his way through ever situation and yet he still missed his eyes. The figure looking back at him was small and scrawny. His hair was as black as the feathers of the animal he was said to look. His delicate features were sharp and without the make up to cover them, several freckles covered his boney pale skin, specially thanks to the black sweater Ivy had brought back to him. 

Speaking of the devil, the red haired girl made her way into his peripheral vision with another one of his potted plants. Oswald had never been too fond of children, specially loud ones but Ivy wasn't all too bad. She was quiet most of the times. The girl spoke to her plants more than to him and even then she wasn't as mean as the girls he remembered, if anything she was odd specially with her long socks and one long-length glove. Whenever he asked about it, the girl would immediately change the subject. Eventually, the raven haired grew used to it and just assumed she was trying to cover some nasty scars. In all honesty he didn't care. The one thing that bothered him about the girl besides her overall childish nature was her obsession with him adopting her. She truly was just a lost puppy desperate for someone to look after her. Since she was fairly useful, he had agreed to 

After a few seconds with both of them just standing there, Ivy cleaned her throat before speaking. "The guy you told me to call is here." 

Oswald turned around to look at her. He could tell she was tense for a second before he allowed a smirk on his mouth, "good, you can go to your room now."

Ivy blinked as her shoulders slumped, "what? Why? I did everything you told me to!"

"Because we're about to have some adult talk that kids have no business listening to."

"But-"

"Ivy, don't you want to come live with me in my big mansion with dozens of servants?"

The girl looked at the floor and hugged herself, "I-I do."

"Then do as you're told. Go play with your plants or something." He limped towards the door, his limp was even more pronounced than before, and put his hand on the doorknob. He looked back at her.

Ivy let out an a discontent noise of before making her way to her room. Children, they had no respect for their elders anymore. They really thought they understood how the world work but it was a far darker place that would surely corrupt all of their innocence one day. Oh, poor naive creatures so easily tricked. Oswald opened the door and was met with the goliath of a man that was Gabe. He was wide and tall, muscles with no brains. More importantly, he was as loyal as a labrador. Every army started with one soldier and this was his. Oswald would be back to his position in no time and he would make sure Wayne paid for what he had done along with everyone else he lived. After that, he'd get back into power and maybe try the whole mayor business once again, although he'd need a new chief of staff. Edward was surely long gone by now with his disgustingly sweet Isabella. The thought of the man left a whole in Oswald's chest, one that wouldn't be filled for a long time. It didn't matter. He didn't need him and he certainly didn't need love, not as ong as he had power and hatred to keep going. In fact, Oswald wished Edward well in whatever he was doing with his life. He hoped the two of them had a bunch of children and never returned to the city again because if they did he would do... something. He wasn't sure what that was however it wouldn't be good and he'd make Ed eat his words. Love was overrated anyways, loyalty was something far more interesting.

He had been so caught up thinking how he didn't need Edward that he didn't notice the man embrace him tightly and pull him off his feet until his entire body screamed for mercy, "that's enough, Gabe," he said breathless and tried to tap his back. 

The large man put him down, "sorry, it's just good to see ya, boss. We all thought you had died for sure! Suicide even!"

Oswald scoffed, like he would have ever take his own life. As his mother used to say, suicide was the coward's way out and if there was one thing Oswald Cobblepot was not was a coward. "My death was greatly exaggerated, although not attempted on and I intend on repaying them for their generosity in a similar way. Call the others, Gabe," he smiled darkly as he turned around, "we have a brat to kill."

"Ok, boss, but I don't know how I feel about killing random kids. Can't we just get the asshole who tried to kill you instead?" Gabe asked with obvious concern. 

Oswald closed his eyes and let out an exhale, "the brat WAS who tried to kill me, Gabe! And this is no random kid, we're talking about Bruce Wayne here!"

"Wait, ya mean the Bruce Wayne? The multi billionaire orphan Bruce Wayne?"

"Yes, I don't know many other ones, do you?!" He turned back sharply to bark at him with his left hand in the air.

"Why didn't you say so earlier?"

Oswald turned on his heels once again with a huff of air, "I'm glad you understand," he took a step towards the greenhouse as the Penguin regained his cool, "now, we will need weapons, and men and-" before another word could leave the short man's mouth, a blunt object his the back of his head sending him unconscious to the floor.

...

"I never thought you had it in you, Gabe." Oswald said from the wheelchair he had been tied up to as he looked up at his former allies. During the time he had been unconscious, the men who were supposed to be helping him arrived and they all stood in front of him. So much for loyalty. 

"No, you never did. You never believed in any of us," the other men all nodded. 

"Oh boo hoo!" Oswald spat out at then, "if you are going to kill me, just do it already!"

"We're not going to kill you, but I bet that Wayne kid will pay us a lot for giving him a chance to finish what he started."

Of course they would. These men would sell their grandmothers for the right amount of money, "just get this over with them." 

Gabe looked back at his men, "you heard him, is the truck ready? I think we should wrap things around here."

"I'm glad you agree," Oswald heard Ivy's voice say. All men in the room turned to look at the girl in the door. She looked at her patient, "never send me to my room again," she looked at the men and swung her arm towards them. It was no longer covered by the gloves revealing patterns green skins with complex that were once hidden away. The Penguin watched in shock as all the plants moved and grew until they all became giant versions of their former selves with roots hanging from their now cracked pots. The men all yelled before trying to shoot at the tendril like appendages, however they weren't able to stop them from wrapping around all of their bodies until movement was impossible. Once satisfied with her work, Ivy turned to look at Oswald. "See? If you had let me stay, you wouldn't be in that situation," she pointed at him and he flinched at the possibility of one of the plants doing the same to him. 

"Ivy, I-"

"No, you listen! Throughout my entire life people have told me what to do and how to behave! No one ever treated me as anything but a dumb little kid that liked to play with flowers! In the end I lost everything, everything I had for no fault of mine! All because of the adults! You all keep saying you don't want me ruining my own life by making stupid choices and yet you all keep doing the stupid choices yourselves!" The red haired girl sniffed and wiped away a tear of anger before continuing, "I know that you're mad that someone tried to kill you, but guess what, Penguin, someone tried to kill me too but I didn't call anyone to get my revenge! There was no press about it and I doubt no one even cared! I'm tired of suffering for other people's mistakes, be it yours, Selina's or my parents! Sure, not all of my choices were great, but at least they were mine, so you either start treating me like you would treat any adult or you can be all by yourself! And it wouldn't hurt if you were a little nicer too!"

Silence befell the room, that is, besides the struggling males desperately trying to escape. Oswald wasn't sure whether he was more flabbergasted by the girl's demeanor or the powers she had displayed. Actually, the powers definitely won however her words certainly made him think. Ivy didn't have any reason to really save him besides the goodness of her heart and possibly a chance for her to come live with him and he had been treating her not as a person but as a tool to get rid of once he was through with her. That had been the same type of behaviour that led to him betray Fish, Camine and the others. They never saw his potential. They only witnessed the freaky umbrella boy underneath and, in the end, that was their downfall. Had Oswald been so blinded by his own pride and greed he had started to behave like the people he'd grown to despise? How long had him been acting like that for? No, that was a stupid question. He had always been like this, all that changed was how much power he had and who he had with him. Plus, he didn't want to be plant food. "Very well," he said calmly after a while, "perhaps I did act rashly and treated you poorly and for that I," he cleaned his throat, "I apologize. I'm very thankful for you saving me and I'd be very pleased if you chose to stay by my side as my-"

"Friend?" Ivy asked with hope in her eyes however it was quickly dismissed by the bird like man as he corrected her. 

"Ally. I don't make friends," he looked at Gabe, "not anymore anyways. They always betray you in the end, I can, however, make allies with a shared goal."

Oswald relaxed at the small smirk that formed in her lips as she nodded, "yeah, I guess that's good enough." She turned to look at the treacherous criminals and Oswald followed her eyes. "What should we do with them?"

"First of all, you should untie me. Please," he added the last word with a slightly softer voice than his usual one, "and you can make them into fertilizing for all I care, except for Gabe. I have plans for him."

All of her teeth appeared in her mouth as a sadistic joy that simply shouldn't exist in the eyes of a child glowed in her eyes, "I think I have the perfect specimen to take care of them." The red haired girl turned to look at a flytrap. It was still normal sized but that would change very soon. 

Oswald smiled as well, "I like the way you think, kid. It's concerning but I like it for certain."

The struggling became more intense as the carnivorous plant started to grow, luckily, it didn't take long for it to cease altogether. 

**\---**

Jervis was glad he had decided to do this at night, at least he now had a chance of escape into the relentless dark night. He had planned everything so perfectly, this wasn't fair! It was his moment, his time for revenge! How the hell did Jim manage to grab a pen that exploded? Why was something like that even a thing? His face still felt warm however he didn't think it had burnt him too seriously. Still, his vision was blurry and he had pixels dancing around his head. In his current condition there was no way he was out running Jim Gordon, his footsteps were already growing closer against the asphalt. The mad hatter had even lost his gun during the fight, how much worse could things really get? His only chance would be to trigger the detective's hypnosis. He reached inside his coat for his watch. 

The handle of the gun that once was his hit the raven haired male on the side of the head sending him to the floor with a yelp. "It's over, Jervis," the private investigator pulled his tie and used it to tie his hands behind his back during his daze, "you shouldn't have gone after the people I love."

Jervis laughed. He didn't find the situation particularly funny however he refused to let Jim think he was on top of the situation, "oh, but Jim, we're getting started," his laughter became maniacal. The villain tried to look back only to see a figure looming over Jim with a samurai sword. He tried to swing it against the ex-cop's head but the blond man managed to duck just in time and countered with a kick. The dim lit figure dropped the blade in favor of grabbing his foot and used it to throw the hero away from its prey. 

The new figure grabbed Tetch by the arm and pulled him to his feet, and at that moment the Mad Hatter noticed too things. The first was that this guy was in all leather which he supposed wasn't too odd for Gotham. The second and more disturbing was how cold his hands were, too cold for a human who was alive and moving as much as he was. 

Jim finally managed to get to his feet again and pointed the gun at this stranger, "who are you?! What do you want with him?!"

"I'd actually want to know that too," Jervis admitted and looked between the two with more scared eyes than he would have liked. 

Instead of a reply, the man answered with a smoke bomb being thrown to their feet, "wait!" Jim yelled and for once, Jervis agreed but neither of their wished were respected as Tetch felt something being forced against his nose and the world faded away. 

\---

When Melanie Cameron came to Gotham two years prior, she had expected to find a place where she could forget her past. This was a city of opportunities where no one would bother looking into the criminal record of a simple nurse. At the time, she didn't realize that was more of a problem than a solution. 

The girl was kidnapped while walking back to her small apartment in the Narrows. It had been a rainy day so not many people were outside and she had no intention of being there more than needed, that is, until she heard a screaming from help. She had heard about the storied, but Melanie had never been the type of person to ignore someone in need. The blonde woman made her way to the alleyway she thought the scream had come from when she witnessed a gruesome sight. Another woman was laying on the floor under the rain with no clothes over her body. Her left knee was fractured and the snapped bone ripped from the otherwise smooth skin in a mess of blood and tissue. Melanie's first reaction was to run towards the woman while pulling her jacket to possibly stop the bleeding, even if a little, "what the hell happened to you?!"

The woman gasped and screamed once more. For a moment Melanie thought it was shock from the pain until she realized she hadn't been looking at her but rather something behind her. All she had had time to do was glance back as a crowbar cane flying onto her head. 

That had been three weeks prior. When Melanie woke up again, she lacked any clothes, her wrists had been cuffed to a wall and she was not alone. Seven other women were there with her in a very similar position. Some of them barely moved anymore while others screamed and pleaded for any help to appear. None of them were the woman she had met, none of them stayed for long and a new one would always come to take their place. Their captor would generally come in twice a day to feed them and take pictures of them. The monster was tall, somewhere around 6'3ft and extremely muscular. His face was aways covered by some type of mask and his clothes always seemed to be the same striped shirt and dirty jeans. Considering the amount of pictures he would take, specially of the women he was about to take away, it wasn't hard to figure out he was a human trafficker and they were his merchandise. It's funny, Melanie had heard about things like this happening in that god forsaken city but she never expected anything like that to actually happen to her. She supposed no one did until it was too late. 

The woman knew she would likely be the next one to be sold to whatever fucked up creep that would be willing to actually buy people. Melanie had grown to accept that, however she had also decided she wouldn't go down without a fight. Maybe if she was loud enough someone would actually come to rescue the others. That was probably wishful thinking. 

That evening, she assumed it was even, they didn't have a way to actually tell from the basement they were in, had started off odd. The foul individual had fed them and taken his pictures as usual so she had assumed he'd be gone until the morning and yet she could hear footsteps grow closer and closer until the door snapped open. Some of the girls shrieked and squealed, but not Melanie. Sure, there were marks of tears over her cheeks however her eyes were defiant as they glared into her captor's. There was something odd about them tonight. They didn't have their usual malice in them, instead they looked almost afraid. "If you try to escape, I'll kill you and your little friends," he threatened lowly. That was the first time he actually heard him speak. 

The man like monster walked towards Melanie first and freed her wrists before throwing her over his shoulders. He probably didn't think she had enough strength to fight anymore. That was his first mistake. As soon as she found an opening, Melanie shoved two of her fingers into the man's eyes causing him to roar in pain and throw her away. She tried to stand up. The weeks without using them weighted heavily and she found herself unable to. With a curse on her lips she tried to crawl over the stair while screaming as loudly as her lungs would let her. 

"You little whore!" The trafficker finally got back to his feet, "c'mere!" He spoke through his teeth as he grabbed her hair and pulled her back. Melanie tried to thrash and claw at whatever flesh she could find until a wide fist hit her in the face causing a gasp to escape her. Her head began spinning for a dazed as he tied her hands once more and threw her over his shoulders. What a shame, she thought, the woman had nearly managed to escape. Hopefully her actions would give one of the other girls the courage she needed to fight back and maybe she would be able to escape. If only someone had heard her screams. Unfortunately, as she had found out, there were no heroes in Gotham. Only people like her and the villains. She closed her eyes.

"Now, I'm not the expert in women," they shot back open only to see a complete stranger standing in front of them "but I don't think that's the way to treat them." This new man wore a green suit and trouser with a matching tie and even gloves. The only non green things in his outfit seemed to be the black vest shirt underneath and the bowler hat.

"Who the fuck are you?!" The towering figure shouted clearly as surprised as the woman. 

A wide grin formed in the stranger's mouth and he fixed his glasses, "didn't your mommy teach you some manners? Besides, that's not the right question," he said and reached inside his suit. He pulled what looked like a golden question mark, "you should be wondering why I'm here instead."

"You're here to die, asshole!" The big man yelled before tossing Melanie on the floor and charging towards the lean figure in front of him. The stranger sighed and clicked a button to make the question mark grow into a cane. He swiftly stepped to the side just as the bulky attacker got too close to change his direction and pressed the question mark against his exposed nape. 

What followed was a show of lights as the larger man screamed and fell to the the floor while convulsing and twitching, "let's try this again, shall we? Answer correctly and you won't die" The man pulled his cane away slightly, "what is white, black and red in the middle?" 

"What? I'm gonna kill you mother-" a blade appeared in the end of the man's cane. He stabbed it into the monster's leg causing him to scream in agony. 

"The answer is a penguin that has been shot. Let's try an easier one, shall we? Did you kill the mayor?" The man looked up at his torturer with tears in his eyes. Melanie wasn't one for enjoying the pain of others but she wouldn't be lying if she said this was extremely gratifying. 

"N-no! No, I didn't! I don't do that type of job!" He tried to plead. It didn't work as the green male pulled his cane back and stabbed his stomach this time around. Another scream.

"I find it hard to believe. You are the only disgusting trash around the area. Perhaps I should refresh your memory?" He pulled his cane back. 

"W-wait! No, it was that kid! He did it, I-I saw it, ok?!" He shouted desperately. 

The man in green blinked, finally losing his cool it seemed, "what?! What kid?"

"The, uh, the Wayne kid! I saw him leave the building with some old dude that night, he was covered in blood! I-I'm sure he did it, go after him, not me!" The brutus turned into coward pleaded desperately. 

Realization seemed to hit the stranger's face before he threw his head back and began laughing as if he had been told the funniest joke in the world, "of course!" He said to the skies, "how could have been such a fool? Of course it was him!" He looked down at the man, "thank you, honestly, you've just helped more than you could ever imagine. Unfortunately, you also failed to answer my riddle so you're still going to die," just as her raptor was about to protest, the man in green's blade stabbed into his neck leaving a deep red hole behind. The human traffickers' shot wide as his mouth began opening and closing desperately. He tried to stop the bleeding, breathe or anything to survive but it was all for nothing and soon enough his entire body stopped moving. 

The stranger turned to look at the nurse, "I'll call the police and they should help you and anyone else in here." He faced the door and took a step towards it. 

"W-wait!" Melanie shouted and struggled to sit up, "please, at least tell me the name of my saviour!"

The man in green snickered, "I'm not a saviour, in fact, I'm probably closer to being the devil if you insist in learning my name, from this day forward refer to me as the Riddler." The Riddler smiled widely and she could almost swear there was an ethereal glow around him as he swirled his cane and laughed, "if you will excuse me, I have an orphan I need to kill." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this chapter doesn't feel too rushed since I wanted to get it out today. I will try to make this weekly from now on but this might mean the following chapters will be a bit rushed and for that I apologize. I will try to keep the quality high. I do have 75% of the story planned so hopefully that won't be too difficult. Comments and kudos are always appreciated.


	5. Ghosts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hello my baby by chordettes
> 
> Hello, hello, hello there  
"Hello! ma Baby,  
Hello! ma honey,  
Hello! ma ragtime pal,  
Send me a kiss by wire,  
Baby, my heart's on fire! And  
If you refuse me,  
Honey, you'll lose me,  
Then you'll be left alone;  
Oh baby, telephone  
And tell me you're my own,  
Hello! hello! hello!"  
I've got a little baby, but he's out of sight,  
I talk to him across the telephone;  
I've never seen ma honey, but he's mine, all right;  
So take my tip, and leave this guy alone  
And I'll sing  
"Hello! ma Baby,  
Hello! ma honey,  
Hello! ma ragtime pal,  
Send me a kiss by wire,  
Baby, my heart's on fire!  
If you refuse me,  
Honey, you'll lose me,  
Then you'll be left alone;  
Baby, telephone  
And tell me you're my own,  
Hello! hello! hello!  
If you refuse me,  
Honey, you'll lose me,  
Then you'll be left alone;  
Baby, telephone  
And tell me you're my own,  
Hello! hello! hello! there! "

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: I'm going to start posting it weakly!  
Also me:
> 
> Sorry, lots of personal things happened this week and I didn't get much time to write. I won't promise but I'll try to keep a consistent schedule and post between 7-10 days. 
> 
> In other news, I divided this fic into 3 main parts and next chapter will be the end of the first part along with its climax so yay? 
> 
> Songs used:  
https://youtu.be/6l6vqPUM_FE (I don't want to set the world on fire)
> 
> https://youtu.be/-fN-Xjpd-qE (midnight the stars and you)

I don't want to set the world on fire by the Ink Spots. The song playing in the background was the first thing he noticed as he came to be once more. Slowly, the man blinked away the confusion that came with waking up after being drugged. The second thing that he had noticed was the smell of freshly baked cookies. The smell alone made his stomach rumble. He hadn't eaten in a while. 

Ironically, Jervis found himself seated by a dining table, however this place was very different from his hideout and his plan. For starters, he wasn't tied up and he still wore the same clothes from before. While he had selected a very isolated abandoned warehouse, his kidnappers brought him to an antique dining room. The tables and chairs were made of a similar elm wood as the walls while the planks on the floor were made of dark oak. The walls were decorated with old clocks and owls, from statues to stuffed birds preserved forever. There were also no windows, the only source of light came from the crystal chandelier above. Perhaps the place was made to seem old fashioned and cozy but all Jervis could think about was how he felt like he was being watched. This place looked far too much like a prison. At least he wasn't alone. To the Mad Hatter's left, sat a tall and thin boy, at least he thought he was a boy, however he wasn't too sure, his features were feminine and delicate and his bobbed brown hair covered a good part of his face from where Jervis what. The kid seemed too busy eating the cookies he had noticed earlier to pay attention to Jervis. Meanwhile, the other figure in the room wouldn't take her eyes off of him. Even with the owl mask, he could tell the woman had quite some age and wealth. Her silver hair was tied back into a bun and her golden clothes shimmered under the light, "ah, mister Tetch, it's good to see you're finally awake."

"Where am I? Who are you?" Jervis asked as he looked around. The kid finally looked at him with curious eyes. 

"Calm down, mister Tetch. You're among friends. You may refer to me as Kathryn and this young man," she gestured at the boy, "is Jonathan Crane." Jervis could tell the woman was trying to be friendly with a warm smile but he couldn't help but think of her entire demeanor as creepy and intimidating. The boy, mister Crane, seemed completely unaffected by it however. In fact, he was back to eating. 

Jervis looked at her sideways, "friends? Please, we all know how this ends. Why am I really here?"

The woman folded her hands on the table, "very well, if you don't like the word friends I suppose colleagues would be more fitting. As for why you're here, well, you see, I'd like to propose an exchange. You help us get what we want and you may have what you desire the most."

Jervis scoffed and leaned back, "and what is it you want? What do you think I so desire?" He asked and lifted an eyebrow. 

She chuckled. "Oh, you see, you and I aren't all that different mister Tetch," the woman leaned forward and there it was, the heinous wolf dressed like a sweet grandmother. Her grin was stretch far too much for it to be comfortable and Jervis realized this was a deal he wouldn't be able to refuse. "We both want blood." 

**\---**

"I will be the first one to admit, I may have lost control back there and for that I apologize." Oswald said once he finished burying the corpses of his once employees. As it turns out, plants can't really digest a human body and will just regurgitate what it can't absorb and, to the raven haired man, it was as disgusting as it sounds. The Penguin had gotten Gabe to do most of the job but after an argument involving Ivy's truth potion, betrayals and the use of a certain word he despised, the bird like male ended up stabbing the man he once called dog like in a fit of rage. Even if he had had a proper burial, it would have to be a closed casket based on the state of his face afterwards. "Sticks and stones and all that."

"It's ok," Ivy said with a sympathy Oswald hadn't received in a long time, "words hurt me way more than sticks and stones."

Oswald took a deep breath. The girl had no idea how true that was for him. He could stand physical pain and suffering, however a few set of words were all that needed to make his heart crumble just like how it had happened with Edward, "me too," he added quietly before turning around. "But better not to dwell on that," otherwise he might start crying and he despised to be seen crying. "We don't need them. Who needs stinky stupid men when I have a one girl army?" He offered the girl a smirk.

Ivy tilted her head and furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, "wha-?"

Oswald sighed and allowed his head to fall forward, "you, Ivy. You're my one girl army with your plants and your- you know what? Nevermind. My point is, you and I will take on Bruce Wayne and Gotham all by ourselves. We don't need anyone else betraying us, yelling at us, and calling us-" He didn't complete that sentence, he didn't need to since Ivy was there. 

"Freaks?" She asked and received a deep breath from the male.

"Please, don't use that word," he requested with his voice low and barely audible. 

Ivy shrugged, "don't feel so bad, Pengy. People used to call me a freak all the time. Mom, dad, the kids in school, even you. I tell myself I'm just unique and people don't appreciate it." 

He looked at her over his shoulder, "and how has that worked so far?"

Ivy looked down at a patch of dirt, "it works sometimes." 

Oswald faced the ceiling, "people used to call me that and other things all the time before I became someone. Like you said it yourself, it hurt much more than the bottles and other hard objects they used to throw at me."

"How did you deal with it?"

"I had my mother. She was always supportive, always there for me. She would wrap me into her warm embrace and tell me how the other kids were just jealous. Then she would sing to me gently until I fell asleep," he didn't noticed the soft smile on his own lips nor the tenderness in his own voice. Ivy, however, did and shared the smile.

"She sounds lovely," the girl admitted and stepped closer to him, "where is she?"

His smile and had faltered once again. He closed his eyes to try and contain his tears, "dead. She was killed by a pair of horrible siblings who wanted to take everything away from me." And they almost succeeded. If it wasn't for Edward, Oswald would have died alone with no desire to keep on battling. The entire city was against him and his enemies seemed so giant at the time, and yet he still defeated them. Twice. The pain from her loss never became any better. He just learned to live with it. 

"I'm sorry, Pengy," she spoke gently and for a moment silence befell between them. Oswald thought he'd have to be the one to break it, however, Ivy was faster. "My father was killed by a detective named Harvey Bullock. A few weeks later, my mother killed herself." The red haired didn't really sound sad or angry as she spoke, just tired. "I lived with a friend for a while but we ended up fighting. I heard about how you wanted Fish Mooney for 1000000 dollars. I tried to catch her and failed. I nearly died but somehow my body changed and my arms and legs became like this," she looked down at her green hand and Oswald followed her eyes. Poor girl. She had been through so much, specially for someone her age.

The girl turned around and hugged herself. Oswald looked at her and for a moment, he considered putting a hand on her shoulder to try and reassure her but quickly dismissed it, "the world isn't a fair place, Ivy. It's dark and filled with horrible people, specially here in Gotham. If you want to survive, you must be as bad as the rest of them a vicious circle of lies, betrayals and pain. That's just how humans are."

Ivy nodded weakly, "that's why I like plants better."

"Yeah. The good news is that, just because your parents were weak, that doesn't mean you will too. In fact, you're probably the strongest teenager I know."

Ivy faced him with a faint glimmer in her eyes, "really?"

"Really," Oswald took a step closer to her, "and if you stay with me I will make you even stronger. I'll teach you how to be a queen of Gotham so one day you can rule over this city with an iron fist, feared and respected by all. The truth is, people like you and me don't need love. We're stronger without it. Hatred and power is what keeps us going," he took her hand, "we don't need any friends."

Ivy looked at him, "that sounds sad. Isn't life without love and friends not worth living?"

Oswald scoffed, "yes, if you're like one of those ignorant fools who believe life is about being happy. Life is about being on top and being remembered afterwards. Life is about what legacy we will leave behind, and I'll tell you what, after we're done with Wayne we will go after Bullock. Mark my words, Ivy Pepper. Together we will be unlimited," he pointed up at the clouded dark sky, "we will be the greatest team that's ever been, no one will stand a chance against us!" 

"I like the sound of that," Ivy admitted and looked between Oswald's finger and his face with a wide grin. "Where do we start?"

Oswald turned to face her with a small chuckle, "like all great stories, we start from below. Now, come along, we oughta get ready. This will be a busy week."

**\---**

It took them several weeks, but they finally had a lead. Fish Mooney proved to be a difficult woman to track, whenever they thought they had something, the track would grow cold and fade away, that is, until Bruce found out about the attacks to several Wayne laboratories all over the city, none of which had been covered by the press nor come out to the public. Even the orphan hadn't heard about it until they began looking into it. Selina hadn't expected it to affect him much, and yet the boy had grown uneasy the past few weeks, paranoid even. It no longer felt like he was helping her to find out about Ivy. Rather, it seemed like another one of his conspiracy theories with the murder of his parents in the end of the line. She wasn't sure what to make of it. 

Bruce had always had the awful habit of making everything about him and always in his way. He was stubborn as mule and once put his mind into it, he became near obsessed with the subject. Unfortunately, that generally meant he became an expert as well. He was the best detective that she knew and yes, the girl was considering Gordon in her statement. It was one of the greatest advantages of being his friend and one of the worst disadvantages. Normally, Selina wasn't the type to do things on her own to protect others, because she thought they would slow her down or betray her, yes, definitely, but not to keep them safe. However, the girl was starting to get really worried about her friend, which is why she decided to investigate it alone. 

At first sight, the laboratory didn't seem anything too special, although it was odd that Wayne enterprises, a company that specialized in producing medical equipment and occasionally pharmaceutical products would have such a big laboratory just to research beauty products, not that Selina knew much about what Wayne enterprises would or would not do. Even more suspicious was that, whoever had attacked had left the animals used for testing intact. They hadn't gone out of their way to kill them but hadn't tried to free them like you'd expect from environment extremists like those in charge of the facility had told Bruce.

What they seemed to have done, however, was massacre every single human being in sight. The once clean and white lab was now a red mess of broken equipment and bodies. Some of the bodies had been torn apart completely while others had biting and scratch marks all over. It looked like a pack of wild beasts had broken in to deliver a gory judgement upon them. Now that sounded like Fish Mooney and the monsters she had working for her. That woman was absolutely ruthless and merciless. Selina still had no idea why she would a take a place like this. 

Once there was nothing else to see, the burglar freed the animals and investigated the bodies. They all had key cards in them so she decided to pick a few along with the money in their wallets. It wasn't like they would be needing it anymore. She hadn't been able to find out what Fish wanted nor where Ivy could possibly be but she was certain the ex Falcone lieutenant had done this and that was more than she could have asked. As she was walking around, getting ready to leave, the girl noticed a suspiciously empty corridor, one that reminded her of a very similar place back in Arkham. Suspicious, Selina began tapping around the wall until she found a loose tile and pushed it back. Just as she had expected, the wall slid to the side. The female took a few steps away and smirked at the elevator. She used the key card she had to unlock the door before getting in. A part of her wondered whether Fish had found that place, luckily as soon as she reached her goal, the girl got her answer. If the previous floor looked like a bloodbath, this was a full river made of blood. There were about five time as many bodies, none of which was whole anymore. Almost all of them lacked a head and their guts were spilled all over the floor. Some missed their limbs while others had their arms and legs twisted in a way that forced Selina to avert her gaze. She tried to avoid stepping on any of them, however that was considerably more difficult considering the dim blinking light in that place. Normally gore didn't affect her but even she had to admit this was too much. With a few curses and after stepping on several too many intestines for the girl's liking, she reached the cages. They weren't animal sized like the ones upstairs, rather they looked like holding cells. All of them seemed to have been used recently, more worryingly, all of them were empty. This hadn't been an attack, it had been a rescue, or more likely, a recruitment. 

The girl made her way back to the main area and continued to explore. The cards proved to be quite useful as they allowed her to access most rooms, most of which were testing and meeting rooms and a cafeteria that were of no use for her. She did manage to find out this was were some of the creatures from Arkham that had been recaptured had been sent here for experimenting, although what they were experimenting with was unclear. 

There was one room left now: the archives. She slid the card down pressed her hand on the door before freezing. Something had grabbed her ankle. The girl looked down to see one of the security holding her with his one arm left. Even more impressive, he lacked a head. "Holy shit-" the girl shrieked before kicking it away. How the hell was that even possible? What the fuck was going on down there?! Were these humans or cockroaches? Selina decided to get it over with as fast as she could and threw herself inside. As expected, there were dozens of files in there. Not so expected, the room was colder than any of the large rooms and a small glass container with a thick red substance inside. It looked like blood, she thought. Her eyes moved from the object to the furthest wall where a much more interesting item hung. There was a map of the city with several marks on buildings that seemed random to her but would likely mean a lot to Bruce. Interestingly, the marks were shaped like the head of owl. The girl folded the map and slid it inside her jacked. Once it was secured against her body, she turned to the container. She thought about it for a moment before deciding to just take the object. She had expected it to be cold however the glass was, in fact, warm. As soon as Selina took it, an alarm started to blast through all the speakers around her causing her to jump. Now she had done it. The girl opened the door in the hopes of getting out before security arrived only to realize she was already surrounded, not by the type of guard she had expected. All the previously dead members of security were rising up. Those that could, stood on their two legs slightly hunched while those that could not, crawled towards her far too quickly for someone with broken and lacking any legs. Most of their heads were missing revealing the bone and muscles it was once connected to. 

Selina was in shock as she saw what was going on and only snapped out of it once one of the crawling ones jumped on her. She yelped and fell back, as she did, the creature climbed on her being quickly followed by her companions. The girl screamed and thrashed while trying to kick the things away. None of them seemed to be interested in harming her, rather they were after the container. Once she realized this, the girl threw the recipient on the crowd of dead behind them and tried to get away. It worked, the crawling creatures jumped towards the shattering glass, freeing the child who rushed back into the archives. She immediately closed the door behind her and panted with her back pressed against the cold metal. What the hell was this place? She shook her head, no that didn't matter anymore, she had what she wanted all the child to do now was get out. Most people would likely see themselves as trapped, but the girl saw herself as resourceful and adaptable. She was never truly trapped. The street child looked up at where she felt the cold wind coming from. She seemed to be just the right size to crawl into the ventilation system. 

**\---**

Jim circled the amber liquid in his glass as he listened to the woman on the stage sing to midnight the stars and you by Ray Noble and Al Bowlby. The bar was mostly empty save for a few loyal customers running away from their families and jobs, they all wanted some calm and quiet place to forget about their problems. The place was quite peaceful which was a good contrast to the chaos in the rest of the city. 

"Jim?" The familiar voice of Harvey Bullock called out and the man took the place by the balcony next to him, "I didn't know you were coming to this place. How's your girl doing?" He put a hand on the younger man's shoulder. 

Jim downed his drink before clicking his tongue, "things didn't work out. I decided to break up. She's a great woman and I just couldn't let her put herself through danger just for me."

"I'm really sorry to hear that, buddy. Maybe once things calm down you two can get back together."

"Maybe. Truth is, ever since Penguin died this city has gone insane, well, more so than before. As much as I hate to admit it, Oswald knew how to keep everyone on track, another round," his glass was filled. 

Bullock nodded, "yeah, now it's like every lunatic decided to crawl from the place they were hiding."

Jim nodded, "if that wasn't bad enough, more and more runaways from Indian Hills keep popping up. Apparently, someone is freeing them." 

Bullock shook his head, "of course they are, because having to catch those weirdos ain't bad enough," Bullock sighed, "anyways, I should get going. Don't want the captain in my ass tomorrow." He patted the shorter male's shoulder before turning to leave. He hadn't expected the hand that gripped his wrist. "Jim? What are you doing?"

"But you already knew about that, Harvey. In fact, you took me out to drink the night after you broke up," he downed his drink. 

"Really? I must have forgotten," he tried to pull away, "I really need to go."

"Funny," he looked at his drink, "you also told me you didn't like this bar. You said the drinks were too expensive and the people were too quiet. This is the favorite bar of the man I was tracking down, one of the crazies that escaped," he pulled more harshly, "it's actually someone you saw before and someone who saw you. He gave me quiet the headache and based on what I heard his abilities are even more annoying now, ain't that right, Basil?" 

The man stopped and looked at Jim with wide eyes and his mouth, "Jim I have no idea-" the ex detective slammed the man wearing his best friend's face against the balcony. 

"Gotta say, it's way more realistic now. You don't even need the wigs anymore. No wonder you escaped on your own," Jim said and pulled the elastic skin of his cheek which stretched like gum. 

The fear and shock left his eyes and were replaced by pride and curiosity, "thanks. What gave me away? I thought the acting was on point."

Jim made a more or less gesture with his hand, "you lacked the swearing and Bullock would never come to a bar and not order a drink. Plus, you got the eye color wrong," he handcuffed the man. 

Basil sighed, "ya gotta give me a break, man. I haven't revisited this role in months. Perfection takes time. Luckily, I have a few other new tricks," the handcuffs sunk into the man's hand before falling to the floor. As Jim tried to go for his gun, the clay like creature grabbed the now empty glass and smashed it against the officer's head. Jim fell back on his ass dazed by the sudden attacked as his target ran towards the exit faster than he had ever seen his partner run. With a curse and ignoring the bleeding in his head, he tried to run after the wanted creature with his gun in hand. He slammed the door open and looked to the sides of the dark and wide street, but besides a few stray cats it was empty. 

"Dammit!" Jim grumbled through gritted teeth and brought his hand to his wound. It wasn't bleeding too bad but he should probably bandage it at the very least. With a defeated sigh and a lost target, Jim made his way back. Maybe he could drink a couple more glasses and then stop by Bruce's place. It was closer than Gotham General and he hadn't seen him in a while. Maybe talking to his protege would help with the bitter taste in his mouth more than the whiskey had.

**\---**

_Edward Nygma, 27. Born in Metropolis, Edward Nygma was raised by his father after his mother passed away when he was still a toddler. Most of the neighbors described his father as irritable, rude and an overall unpleasant person to be around. He was accepted in Gotham University at age 19 and at age 23 he graduated top of his class and received a job as a forensic scientist in the GCPD until he was convicted for murder of two officers and his ex-Girlfriend after trying to frame Gordon for their crimes. After staying in Arkham for eight months, he was declared sane and was selected by Penguin to work in his campaign. After he was elected as mayor, Oswald promoted Nygma to be his chief of staff, a position he held until Cobblepot's suicide. _

Bruce finished reading Nygma's file for the thousand time and sunk on the chair of his father's studies with a sigh. When Alfred told him someone had been around the mansion watching them, Bruce's immediate thought was that Selina wanted something, however, whenever they tried to approach the lurking figure, it would disappear into the woods that surrounded the mansion. A few days later, the riddles began popping up. At first, they showed up in his front door, but more recently he had found a way inside his house and the puzzles in random rooms. All of them were written in letter paper using a green glitter pen. All the answers were something in the lines of 'war', 'death' and 'murderer.' You didn't need to be a genius to figure out who it was. Nygma could have attacked whenever he wanted, but instead he was just playing with them. It made him insane. 

Bruce felt the hair in the back of his neck stiffen as his senses warned him he was no longer alone. The orphan shot to his feet with a book aimed at the intruder. 

"How terrifying," Selina said sarcastically with a snort, "are you going to punish me by making me study?" 

"Selina," Bruce immediately put the book down as relief washed over him, "my apologies I thought you were, no. Never mind."

Selina arched her eyebrow and crossed her arms while swiping her hips to the side. "What? Did you you piss off another group of assassins or cult? Jeez, even I can't annoy so many people," she swiftly made her way to his side and opened the map she found on the desk. 

"What is this?" Bruce asked as his eyes scanned the confinements of the city he was born in. 

"It's a map. It's going to take us to the place Fish will attack next," Selina's chest was inflated as she spoke with a smirk, "I think she's making a new army using whatever these people are locking up. It's very likely that she will attack the closest laboratory next. There are three options but I think-"

"How did you get this?" Bruce asked and looked at her. The marks around the map were familiar to him. He was pretty sure he saw it in a history book while he researched about Arkham Asylum and its connections to his parents. Once again, he seemed to be pulled into this. It was too coincidental, Oswald had been thrown into Arkham around the time Bruce began looking into it and Jim found out about his crime while Bruce was looking into who ran Indian Hill and Wayne enterprises. Could Ivy's disappearance have anything to do with this? What about Fish Mooney? What was her connection? It was infuriating, Bruce could almost see this network connecting all of Gotham. It was complex and full of lies and betrayals and somehow the murder of his parents was in the middle of all of it. Unfortunately, as it was now, it was nothing more than a feeling.

"I looked into the attack to the laboratory you told me about and found the map and some really crazy shit you won't believe." 

"What?!" Bruce raised his voice as he faced her with disbelief, "Selina, why didn't you get me?! do you have ANY idea what could have happened?! This people are not playing around! They aren't just the local gang, these people are seriously dangerous!" 

"Don't you think I know that?!" She snapped back at Bruce and took a step away from him, "I am not defenceless, Bruce! I KNOW it's dangerous but these people might know where Ivy is and all you do is hurt yourself with this case even more! I know you think this has something to do with your parents kid, but they are gone! You're still here and Ivy might be too! Do you really think your parents would like you to give away your life just to find some robber that may or may not be part of a cult?! I'm sorry, Bruce but you're starting to look like some paranoid guy with nothing better to do!"

Those words lit up an anger within Bruce he hadn't felt ever since his confrontation with Penguin, and just like with the male, he wasn't able to control his wrath, "if you think you're helping me or Ivy, then you're a fool, Selina!" He swiped the papers on his desk out of the wooden surface and onto the floor," It's been months! You wish to know what happened to your friend? She was killed by a highly dangerous and powerful gangster and probably dumped in a river somewhere and all you do is follow after a ghost! So tell me, how are YOU any better than me?" He pointed his fingers at the girl as he finished speaking. Instead of words, she replied with a sniff and tears rolling down her eyes. Even while crying, Selina still managed to keep a defiant, superior attitude. He looked straight into his eyes as he deflated. 

"You are right, Bruce. I am only going after ghosts. Not regarding Ivy, but the boy I once thought you were and I friendship I tried to keep even though you're clearly too stuck up to care about anyone other than yourself and your stupid revenge. Don't worry though, I'll fix that right now," she turned around to leave but was stopped by a hand around her wrists. 

"Selina, I-" before Bruce could continue, the girl immediately scratched his cheeks, leaving four bloody and thin lines behind. He immediately let go of her and brought his hand to the wound. 

"And I used to think I was selfish," she spat the words at him before running towards the window. The burglar stopped briefly to mutter her last words with poison, "goodbye Bruce Wayne." She jumped and left the mansion, presumably 

Bruce remained there between the mess of papers the room had become, each of them contained the face of a dangerous criminal, and yet, the orphan likely felt more guilty than any of them ever did. He thought about running after her and apologizing but stopped himself immediately. Until he had dealt with Nygma, it would be best if he stayed as far away from her as possible. Plus, he was confident they both needed some time. 

The jet black boy was only brought back to reality by the sound of footsteps approaching him from behind. He should have expected his guardian to come, "it's probably better this way," his heart skipped a beat and he grew pale. As he turned around his eyes met Alfred who found himself wrapped from mouth to toe in a thin green material that he could only describe as vines. Next to him was none other than an actual ghost with a gun pointed to his butler's head while the other carried a black umbrella currently being used as a cane. 

"Hello, Bruce," Penguin's words dripped with acid. A crooked grin spread over his lips as malicious as a lion looked at a lamb, "sorry, but old Alfred is a little," he poked the man's temple with the barrel of his gun causing a low groan to escape him, "tied up. I'm sure I could be of some help, after all, what are old friends for?" Green eyes glowed at his directions as a laughter only described as maniacal followed those words. Outside, the rain poured down. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and kudos are always appreciated and keep me going ^^ 
> 
> If you're still reading this, know that I love you ❤


	6. Look into my eyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's been a long long time by Harry James
> 
> Never thought that you would be  
Standing here so close to me  
There is so much I feel that I should say  
But words can wait until some other day
> 
> Kiss me once  
Then, kiss me twice  
Then, kiss me once again  
It's been a long, long time
> 
> Haven't felt like this, my dear  
Since can't remember when  
It's been a long, long time
> 
> You'll never know  
How many dreams I dream about you  
Or just how empty they all seem without you
> 
> So, kiss me once  
Then, kiss me twice  
Then, kiss me once again  
It's been a long, long time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A shorter chapter but an important one nonetheless.

"We could kill him," Edward heard his double speak from the mirror behind him as he studied. The boy didn't really need to read any of those books, he had absorbed all the knowledge he would need to get him through high school and even college with straight As, and yet his eyes still rummaged through the sea of words down in the pages. "I mean, it's not like we don't know how," his ghost continued, "we've read more than enough murder novels and real cases. We could melt his body in the tub and then make bone meal out of what was left. Nobody would ever know. C'mon, Eddie. You know we could. We definitely could." 

Ed ignored him. The last time his father had caught him talking to himself he had beaten him so much the child hadn't been able to walk for days, besides the idea was preposterous. Sure, getting rid of his dad's body wouldn't be a problem however he was much bigger than he was, Edward Nashton was something closer to a beanpole. Puberty had given him height, nothing else. He didn't even have a single hair in his chest. A single punch would be enough to send him down and from then on he didn't want to even imagine the beating that would come after. Maybe the last one.

"We could poison his beer the next time he makes you fetch it," the other suggested as if reading his mind, "c'mon, Eddie. It's better than having to hide from him forever. I'm tired of you just ignoring me, if you're too scared perhaps I should do it instead," the boy could hear the smile in his voice. That was never a good sign. 

He quickly turned around on his chair before yelling, "no!" At his reflection. Differently from the child himself, the other didn't have to wear any glasses nor did he suffer from acne all over his face. Ed would generally keep his hair combed to the side but clone generally wouldn't care and would let the dark brown locks stray. The most unsettling thing about his appeareance, however, was his smile. It sometimes looked too wide for a normal human face. This was one of those instances. 

Edward flinched as a fist slammed the other side of his door, "boy, are you talking to yourself again? Do I have to teach you another fucking lesson?!"

"N-no, sir!" Edward answered immediately as his back straightened even if his father couldn't see him. Of course his voice had to break in a moment like this. 

"Good, you better! Lousy ass crazy kid," he heard the man mutter to himself as he walked away. 

Edward didn't realize he was holding his breath until it was finally released from his lungs, "he will never respect us. He will never understand us. He doesn't love us and we don't love him, so why do you insist on staying?"

"You know what happens to street kids here," Edward whispered quietly, "they get sent to Gotham to be either experimented on or used as sex slaves." He mumbled. The only reason as to why Metropolis was so much cleaner than other cities was because they would shoved those considered unwanted to other cities, specially its much darker neighbor. 

"Only if we get caught. We could always leave for Gotham on your own. We could make a fake ID with a fake name and start over. It's the perfect plan. Kill him before he kills us!" The figure acting as a devil on Edward's shoulder said with an enticing voice and for a moment the teenager considered it. It was true that this man was anything but a father, however he was also the only family he had. As long as he was with him, Ed had a roof over his shoulder, food, as long as he cooked it for the both of them, a warm bed and even books. If he left, the path would be uncertain. Sure, maybe he would be able to have something better or it could be a lot worse. That path was uncertain and risky, two things Edward tried to stray away from as much as he could. 

Ed shook his head and went back to read, "no. Go away before he comes back."

The other sighed, "fine. Be like that, but being a coward will get you nowhere, Eddie." The room became silent as he was left alone. Family was family, no matter how awful it was and it was always supposed to stay together, or so he kept being told. 

\---

Ever since Oswald's death, Bruce had had many nightmares where the former mayor came from the grave and destroyed everything that he had. Each time that he did, he'd wake up in a panic until he manaved to convince himself that was a simple bad dream and returned to sleep. For a moment, the orphan thought this was one of those occasions until he felt something wrap tightly around his wrists. He looked at his hands in shock only to witness two long green vines similar to the ones around his guardian. As he was thrown to the floor, he saw another ghost, one who didn't cause him fear at first, rather surprise and sadness. 

"Ivy?!" He called the red haired girl. This was Ivy for certain but there was something odd about her beyond the green skin in her arm and legs. Her eyes were different, not like Oswald's which had acquired a completely new color somehow, rather they had an ambition, a hunger he hadn't seen in them before, "Ivy, Selina is desperately looking for you! We thought you were dead! Why are you with him of all people?!" He quickly faced Oswald, drawing a chuckle. 

"Sorry, Bruce. Selina and I aren't friends anymore," Ivy said with a shrug, "I don't need friends, just the plants. And who I am and am not with is none of your business."

"You heard the lady, Bruce," Oswald hit Alfred behind the knee with enough strength to send him down, "now that introductions were over, where were we?"

Bruce's eyes went wide and he struggled to free himself, which only made Ivy tie him up with even more vines, "let him go! He has nothing to do with this! I was the one who took you there, I am the one you should kill!"

"Ah, always the hero, huh, Bruce? I see Jim taught you well, unfortunately heroism doesn't work well on me or Gotham in general. Besides," the Penguin swung his umbrella to hit the older male across the head, "I told you I'd come after those around you, didn't I?" Oswald kicked Alfred so he was fully laying down and stepped on his across. "Plus, this was the bastard who shot me in the end. It would be only fair if I did the same," he pointed his gun at Alfred's head. 

The orphan had been struggling to escape his fetters as he watched this, but the sight of the gun pointed at the last member of his family awakened something deep within him, a fear and a rage he had always known he had and constantly tried to hide. He felt like that little boy in that alleyway who didn't do anything as his parents were shot and killed in front of him, "NO! LET GO!" Bruce yelled desperately as as angry tears started pouring down. He couldn't let this happen, not again. 

"Yeah, you are right," the criminal put his gun back in the holster hidden within his jacket, "I would much rather make this last. Oswald brought the umbrella over his head before striking the defenseless man underneath again and again and again as the boy continued to scream, creating a sickening melody that flooded the halls. Ivy had averted her gaze and was staring at a random picture on the wall. At least she still had enough of a heart to be appalled by the sight.

"Ivy," Bruce pleaded with a shaky voice. There had to be some part of her there that still cared. He had always considered her a friend. He caught sight of her tensing up, and for a moment he thought he might have gotten to her. 

"Sorry, Bruce," was the reply he got instead, "but this is only fair after what you did. Besides, only the strong survive in this city."

Bruce turned to see Oswald laughing again. Blood had starterd to spill over his face and clothes with each movement given the smaller male an even creepier look. Bruce expected to hear another remark, but instead the man just looked between the teenager and his butler before hitting the latter again. 

Alfred coughed some blood. He had remained quiet throughout it all, his Guardian had never been one to complain or let the others know the pain he was in, instead he'd swallow it all up and refuse to give their enemy the benefit of seeing his anguish. Bruce respected that in him a lot, but now it only made the sight even more painful. His left eye was swollen and his temple was bleeding from the repeated blunt damage. Based on how much blood he was spitting, the younger raven could also tell he had a broken tooth, "i-it's ok master Bruce," the broken man said before coughing, "don't worry about me. This chump hits like a chick with broken arms and legs. Worry about escaping yourself." He tried to add a smile however it only worked to show his now red teeth from all the damage in the shape of a grimace. 

He knew he was lying. Bruce had felt the Penguin's wrath himself. Despite his small size and scrawny appearance, the bird like man held a surprising amount of strength and, worst of all, quite a technique. He was experienced when it came to beating others, the boy had no doubt.

"Oh, is that so?" Oswald asked with a low voice and a grimace, "then perhaps I should start hitting a little harder!" He lifted the umbrella once again, ready to strike until he heard the sound of a car parking outside. For a moment, they were all silent until the aggressor lowered his weapon and walked to the window. "Shit, it's Gordon, what the hell is he doing here?!" 

Bruce didn't know whether to be relieved or more concerned. He knew Jim was a good cop, but whatever happened to Ivy wasn't something cops could deal with. He didn't want him hurt as well. 

"I'll take care of him," Ivy said as she looked through the window, "he was with Bullock when my father died. They were both responsible for it."

Oswald seemed hesitant for a moment before he nodded, "very well, but don't kill him. Jim can still be useful."

Ivy rolled her eyes and grumbled something before leaving the three males. 

The Penguin looked at Alfred and Bruce once again, "now, where were we?" 

\---

The time that took Jim to get to the mansion was enough for a storm to form and fall, which didn't make things easier specially considering how dark it was and the blood that kept spilling over his eyes. Luckily, the injure wasn't serious but it still bled too much for his taste. He stopped the car and looked at his gun. For some reason, his instincts told him to take it however he shook those off. This was just Bruce after all. He got out of the car.

The man did his best to avoid the mud as he made his way to the door. He spun the doorknob and pushed it open, and yet it wouldn't budge. Perhaps it was locked. He tried to knock on it and shout for their names but neither butler nor boy appeared. The lights were on so he doubted they had left. The ex officer decided to investigate the house, unaware of the two eyes spying on him. 

Even with the thunders and the pouring rain, Jim could hear voices inside. The first one was clearly an afflicted Bruce but the other one wasn't quite Alfred's. It was much raspier and higher pitched than his, not to mention louder. It was familiar. It took Jim a moment to recognize the voice and two to convince himself that he wasn't going insane. The voice belonged to Oswald Cobblepot. 

Jim barely had any time to process that information as something came his way forcing him to dodge. For a moment, he believed a tendril had attacked him until he realized those were in fact roots. Moving roots. He had seen some pretty weird things in Gotham, but angry plants was a first. He rolled to the side and reached inside his jacket for his gun. The holster was empty. "Shit!" He whispered through his teeth just as another root swung his way. This time he wasn't able to escape and was jabbed in the stomach before being thrown away against a tree. All air escaped his lungs. For a moment, Jim was far too dazed to really move, giving the plants an opportunity to continue their attack. Two vines dropped from the top of the tree and wrapped themselves around Jim's body. The man struggled against them, however it was no use. The more he tried to escape the tighter they became. He heard a laughter come from somewhere in the woods around the mansion. He wouldn't let this stay like this. Gordon had one last trick up his sleeves, or rather a pocket knife in his belt. He barely managed to pull it out with his fingers and open it before cutting the snake like plants in a single movement. The man always kept it sharp. 

As he managed to escape, he didn't think twice before running. Some of the roots tried to catch his feet, however he was aware and cautious now and quickly jumped over them. He tried to avoid anymore trees as he ran towards a small shack Alfred kept all the gardening supplies. He remembered seeing him use it several times, including one in particular. The blond male kicked the door open and threw himself inside before locking the door behind him. The vines and roots made their way to the window, luckily he had already gotten what he was looking for. 

Jim gripped the front handle of the chainsaw tightly before using it to cut all of plants in a single movement. Between the roaring of the machine, he could almost swear he heard a scream. The man walked towards the door with his weapon in hand as the rain rolled down his face. He likely looked liked the madmen he normally hunted, but for once, he didn't care. It felt oddly good. With a loud, "SO COME GET A PIECE OF ME!" Jim stepped out and began swinging the weapon in a mess of green and brown. He wasn't sure how long he stayed there in that destructive state however, by the end of it, he was left panting in the middle of a plant cemetery. Among the destroyed vines and roots was a trail of dead leaves. Jim followed the dry plant parts with his flashlight. They lead him to an area where even the grass seemed to have withered and a girl younger than Bruce laid. She had long and voluptuous red hair, now made into a slick brown by the dirt, a forest green hoodie, torn jeans and pale skin save for the skin in her arm and legs. Blood spilled from her nose in an even more alarming amount than Jim's head and yet he couldn't spot any wounds. With a sigh, the man carefully took the wheezing girl, he dropped his weapon and brought her to the car where it was, at the very least, dry. He placed her in the back before pulling out his phone to call the police and an ambulance. He had no idea what was going on, but if Oswald was still alive that could only mean trouble. Once he was done, he left for the mansion again, this time bringing his gun with him. 

\---

Oswald had waited until the right opportunity to strike. He hadn't expected Selina to be there, much less for the girl, she was much taller than he remembered, to attack Bruce over some stupid teenager drama. Oh, children. The criminal had spent weeks planning his revenge and, oddly enough, that time spent with Ivy had turned out to be much more enjoyable than spanking the butler to a near death state. If anything, this was almost sad to witness. The butler was really trying to stay strong but even an iron will could be bent if you hit enough and in this case there was nothing he could do to stop the former mayor from killing him. 

The man laying in front of his feet was a disfigured mess of blood and bruises. His balding silver hair had be become partly crimson, the same color that covered his swollen and bruised lips. Oswald knew it would only take a few more hits before his skull gave in or one of his eyes popped off and things wouldn't be pretty after that. To add to it all, he was concerned about Ivy and Jim. Jim wasn't someone who could be easily dealt with and Ivy was a teenager, he had been that age and knew very well how emotions could get in the way. Perhaps he should wrap things early and go see how those two were doing. 

The man brought the bloodied umbrella over his head once more, expecting to his the butler but, instead,he was the one who was attacked by a wrapped up boy with a loud yell, "NO!" He cried out as he threw his frame over the Penguin's. While Oswald was deep in thought he had managed to stand Cobblepot and Wayne went to the floor at the very same time. The former found it much easier to get back to his feet, however, with his weapon back in hands and newfound rage. "What is this, Bruce? Are you, perhaps, envious of your servant? I suppose I could spare you a few hits before finishing with him,," once again the umbrella was brought over his shape and, once again, he was stopped,this time by a hand around his ankle. 

"N-no," the weak voice of the butler managed to blurt out. He looked at Oswald with his one better, calling it good at this point would be a lie, pleading eye and spoke with broken lips. His hand probably escaped during the attack. "Leave the boy alone, it's me you want. I shot you."

"No," Bruce begged. It was an odd sight indeed, in the few times he'd seen him in the past, the Wayne kid had seemed calm, collected, bashful. Even a little cold. To see him bawling his eyes out was something he hadn't expected. Could this be how he looked like that night? "I was the one who kidnapped you, you already punished him, please, kill me!" 

"No! Boy, be quiet! Penguin, you gotta kill me, understand?!" Alfred almost ordered him but really it was a desperate beg. Oswald found himself between the pleas of death of both males. For a moment Oswald wondered if they were both suicidal creeps or masochists. It was only when he looked into their eyes he realized what it was. Fear. Fear and love. They were terrified, not for their own life but the other's. It was the type of love he expected to see between a mother and her child, not a butler and his boss and yet there it was. 

Oswald took a step back as his knees felt weak. It was around an year and a half prior since the last time someone had looked at him with that amount of love. Suddenly, he was reminded of his own parents' death: his father who had accepted him when no one else would, and his mother. Oh, his mother. How dearly he missed her. There wasn't a single day of his life when he didn't miss her warm embrace or comforting words. She laughed with him and cried with him. She had been the only one who truly understood him and believed in him. Gertrude Kappelput had been a blessing in his life, one without he'd been nothing, and yet, she was brutally stolen away from him by a viber looking for nothing but power and petty revenge. 

Just like he was right now. 

The jet black haired man looked to the floor in front of him to see a framed picture. The glass was partially broken and a few drops of blood covered it but he could very clearly see the family in it composed of a father, a mother and a smiling boy. They all seemed so happy back then.

The umbrella hit the floor. There was no ounce of anger left in his body but rather sorrow, disgust and, something else. "I didn't mean to," he spoke with a weak voice as he swallowed and then walked towards the photo. He took it between his index finger and thumb and used his other hand to gently clean the blood of of the woman's face to reveal more of her grin. "I came drunk one night," he started, "my mother had been very sick and my boss had been requesting a lot from me. I was just so angry, and frustrated all the time," his face twisted at the memory as his brows furrowed, "I blamed the world and God for everything that was happening. I was afraid of losing my job and my mother and Gotham just didn't make things easier for me," he placed the frame on the desk. He still looked at it. "That night I came home and turned on the television to see your father announcing he was running for mayor and, for some reason, that enraged him. Someone like him with a perfect life, perfect family, perfect job didn't deserve to be on top. He didn't know the REAL Gotham. I had seen Fish use this number to call on some assassin whenever she needed it and in my moment of fury I had the brilliant idea to call them on your father to give him a taste of the real gotham," he looked back at Bruce. "Jealousy is a green eyed monster, Bruce, one that will destroy you and all you love. While a little greed and pride are healthy, jealousy will only blind you to the things you had. I hung up as soon as I heard the price, it was far too high for my pay grade at the time. For a while I didn't even think about it until I saw the news that the Waynes had been found dead in an alleyway leaving their son an orphan. I swear, I never meant any harm to your mother, hell, they never even came to collect the money! To this day I haven't paid then a single cent, I have no idea how their business worked but I saw this as an opportunity and used it to take over Gotham. I won't say that I regret what I do. I have done too much, lost too much to start regretting things now, but I AM sorry, Bruce." He looked at the butler, "more importantly, I won't take away anyone else who cares about you." He bent down to grab his umbrella before taking a few steps towards the exit of the room and stopping by the door frame, "you know, a few hours before took me away I told someone else I loved him. He told me I'm incapable of loving anyone else other than myself," he looked back with a sad smirk, "makes you think." 

Oswald wished he could say he and Ivy left the mansion and turned a new leaf. He wished he could say he was a changed man with a brighter future in front of him, but instead what he got was a chainsaw cutting down the door and Ivy's vines which seemed to have withered down a little. The broken door was kicked away to allow passage to Gotham's boy scout himself and one of Oswald's oldest friend. The two looked at each other in the eyes, baby blue on forest green, and like their past, they seemed to reflect each other's emotions. They were expected to be there and at the same time, not. Both males pulled out their guns at the same time and pointed it at each other, "Oswald Cobblepot, you're under arrest for the invasion of private property and harassment. You have the right to-"

"Oh, skip the frivolities, old friend. I'm afraid we will be cutting out meeting short, perhaps some other time. Where is Ivy?" Oswald asked while keeping the gun pointed at the ex officer. 

"She is safe. She's currently sleeping inside my car. Where is Bruce?"

"Fine. Him and the butler are alive although the latter may need a little more than a few stitches. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm a busy man, James."

"You aren't going nowhere, Oswald," Jim brought both of his hands to his gun, "the police is on their way and I'm sure they will love to hear what the hell happened here."

Oswald snorted smugly, "oh, I'm sure they will, specially the part where your protegee kidnapped and attempted to kill the mayor! I'm SURE they will be thrilled! We can either all go down in this boat or none of us will." He thought that he'd win the officer over for one second, however he had always been too prideful and stubborn for his own good. 

"I guess we will," Jim pulled out his handcuffs without aiming away.

"See you in court, old friend." Oswald spoke and brought his finger over the trigger. That proved to be unnecessary, however, as a moment later Jim's eyes grew and he began spasming and twitching. What appeared to be a golden question mark had touched the nape of his neck and sent what Oswald assumed was an electrical discharge. Jim fell to the floor and the shorter male was left to watch the scene in confusion until the perpetrator revealed himself. The king of Gotham gasped and froze as a pair of long legs covered in absurdly green clothes strode inside. Chestnut brown eyes that he hadn't expected to see any time soon with just as much shock, if not even more. For a second, neither man spoke until Edward Nygma broke the silence with a soft whisper, both a question and a realization, "Oswald?" 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, I'll be taking a break after this chapter. I was to write a few other shorter fics and fix a few things in this one. That's all, as always, thank you for reading and if you are enjoying it the best way to let me know is through kudos and comments ❤


	7. Anything for you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm a fool to want you by Billie Holiday 
> 
> I'm a fool to want you  
I'm a fool to want you  
To want a love that can't be true  
A love that's there for others too  
I'm a fool to hold you  
Such a fool to hold you  
To seek a kiss not mine alone  
To share a kiss the Devil has known  
Time and time again I said I'd leave you  
Time and time again I went away  
But then would come the time when I would need you  
And once again these words I'll have to say  
I'm a fool to want you  
Pity me, I need you  
I know it's wrong, it must be wrong  
But right or wrong I can't get along  
Without you  
I can't get along  
Without you

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alternative name for this chapter: The calm before the storm. Not much action here, this is the first chapter of part two of this fic. Thanks to everyone who's still reading this. I love y'all ❤
> 
> And whether you are single or not, I hope everyone had a great valentine's day.

"Oswald?" Edward asked with wide eyes and gulped as he took a step forward. His movement was rigid and slow. "But- how? You were dead! It has been weeks! What happened to your eyes?!"

At a different time, Oswald wouldn't have minded answering those and any other question the younger male might have. Unfortunately, the police was on its way, Jim could get up at any moment and he still had to find Ivy. The shorter of the two opened his mouth to remind Ed of any of those and only a yelp came out. The bird like man hunched forward and brought his arms around himself as he moaned in pain. Ivy had told him something like this might happen, even with all the painkillers he was under, the raven had being forcing his body far too much during the past few week, all in the name of revenge. 

"Oswald!" Edward rushed to his friend's side and brought his hand around him slowly. Once the two of them were touching, he finally let out a breath and relaxed slightly. Did he expect him to disappear? "You're wounded..." He spoke with a tenderness he hadn't heard in a very long time.

"I'm fine," Oswald snarled and pulled away from him. If there was one thing he detested that was pity. He knew Ed was only concerned, however he couldn't help but feel like he was looking down on him, "I don't know why you're here but we have to get out. Jim said he called the cops," Oswald limped towards the unconscious man while wincing the entire way. He winced the whole way through. Once he arrived at his destination, the man slowly bent down to grab his keys. 

Oswald watched with the corner of his eyes as Edward went from concerned to calculating. His lips turned into a straight line and his sagged shoulders returned to their regular position, "I have a car. Taking his will only make it easier for them to track us down."

"I'm not after his car," Oswald retorted before making his way outside. The rain was still pouring and the scene was a lot more dark brown than he remembered. All trees seemed to have lost their leaves along with their half. The ones that weren't dead would be dying soon. With a click of his tongue, Oswald made his way to Jim's car. The mud made it difficult to move and he nearly fell a couple of times, but he managed.

Ivy didn't look good at all. She was far too pale to be healthy and the green in her arm and legs had gained a sickly yellow hue to it. Fuck. Oswald trued to pick her up carefully, a task proven more difficult than usual due to his condition. The extra weight in his arm and the moist dirt sticking to his feet caused the man to fall back. Luckily, Edward was right behind him ready to catch his best friend before he could fall. Oswald looked up at him, "I have many, many questions including who this may be," the lanky male started, "however, I can hold on to those until we are safe in the mansion." 

The edge of Oswald's lips curled into an appreciative half smirk, "help me get her to the car. We parked it just between the trees over there," he pointed with his nose. His ears were starting to ring because of the pain in his abdomen. The shorter male ignored it. 

Edward nodded and took Ivy's arms while Oswald took her legs. Carrying her became a much easier task with the extra limbs. Oswald used the time it took them to get to the car to take a good look at his best friend. He was wearing a horrible looking cloak to protect him from the rain, but even with it on the Penguin could tell his features looked much sharper and his hair was a lot more greasy than he had ever seen before. His eyes had sunk in slightly and he had bags under his eyes. Had he been eating? Sleeping? The ex mayor new how obsessed Ed could be. If he had a new plan in mind he would leave everything else to the side until he had gone through with it. Sometimes the smaller man would have to practically force him to eat or take his medicine. God, had Edward been taking his medication at all? "You look horrible," Oswald said as he dropped onto the passengers seat with a hand over his stomach. 

"You don't look much better yourself," Edward started the car, "what happened to your eyes?"

"It is a consequence of my treatment." It had taken some time to get used to the new color.

"So you did get injured that night," Edward mumbled causing the other to roll his eyes. 

"Of course I was injured that night! I was beaten up, shot and thrown out of a window for fucks sake!" He looked at Edward incredulously. The other's expression was completely unreadable, "Edward, do you really think I would have faked my own death?! Why would I have done that?! I had everything I could want!"

"To get Jim Gordon off your back since he suspected you for the Wayne murder. Maybe as a comeback after our fight," Edward kept his eyes on the road as he answered. 

Oswald scoffed as he glared. He couldn't be serious, "are you kidding me? If you really think that of me, why even bother helping?!"

"I didn't say that was what I believed. I just stated two possibilities among many others."

"Gee, thanks. I'm sorry to disappoint, Edward, but I'm not as much of an awful person as you take me for," he turned to look out of the window with pursed lips. 

Edward's shoulders dropped and he lowered his head slightly, "I don't. I don't take you for an awful person, at least not as much of an awful person as I made it sound back- back when you went missing. I also know that, despite your sociopathic tendencies you are capable of love. You loved your mother after all-"

"Forget about it," Oswald grumbled, "we both said and did things we shouldn't have that day. There is no point being stuck in the past and, quite frankly, this conversation is giving me a headache."

Edward nodded, "right-o," silence befell upon them. For Once, Oswald didn't know what to day. He couldn't forget that night and the things Edward said weighted heavily in his heart. Ed still didn't believe Oswald was capable of loving him. He still doubted him, that was the first thing he did after being apart for over a month. He didn't expect Ed to kiss him upon meeting him but he didn't think things would be this awkward between the two. When when he woke that night in the random apartment of some nobody, Oswald didn't feel like Edward was as much of a stranger as he did now. Did the two of them change that much during the time they remained apart? Was Edward the person he thought he was?

Oswald's fears were only made worse by the lack of conversation. He was getting tired of listening to the car and the rain, "what about Isabella? How is she?"

Edward inhaled sharply but didn't show much more emotion beyond that, "it's Isa-" he blinked and furrowed his eyebrows before glancing at Oswald. "You actually said it right," he looked back at the road, "I asked for some time right after you disappeared. I decided I had to reevaluate my life to see what I should do next."

Oswald looked at his hands on his lap, "I see." He could tell Edward was hiding something but just the fact he wouldn't be seeing Isabella for the near future lifted his spirits. At least it was one less enemy to deal with. He decided not to prior, "and why were you here?"

Edward opened his mouth but no sound came out at first besides a hum. "I have spent the past month investigating your alleged death. I came here to ask mister Wayne some questions but you got to him first."

This time Oswald could smell the bullshit in his words. It was pouring outside and it was too late for anyone to meet anyone to ask questions. Sure, Edward's social skills were lacking to say the least and once his mind was set on something he wouldn't stop until he was done but even he knew his limits. "Uh huh," Oswald replied with sarcasm. It went through Ed's head, of course, as the other made no further attempt to defend himself. 

It didn't matter. Oswald's vision had gone black and white and lights were dancing with the rain. The ringing in his ears covered much other sounds now. He couldn't stop himself from closing his eyes. Perhaps neglecting his wound for so long had been a stupid idea. He should have told Edward about the red moisture in his stomach the moment he felt it with his hand instead of trying to cover it up. Unfortunately, it was too late for that now. The man heard a distant "Oswald?" being said right next to him but it was too far away to stop him from falling unconscious. 

\---

Fuck Bruce Wayne. If that kid wanted to play the spoiled stuck up brat that he was, then let him. Selina didn't need a selfish guy like him, she had survived on her own her entire life and gotten the map all by herself. She didn't require assistance, specially his. 

Using the map Selina had stolen, it wasn't too difficult determining where Fish would attack next, specially with some really shady odd looking individuals stalking the place for about a week. Sure, the woman was powerful however even she needed plans before attacking. Selina decided to wait until the attack began. The chaos should give her an advantage over Fish and she'd have a better chance to escape after. The street girl had also spent her time looking at the place and she had found a perfect entrance: a duct of air on the rooftop. The place was located in the outskirts of the city and surrounded by dying trees and a river, no one would notice if anything happened, at least no one who wasn't observing already.

The girl watched from above as Fish and her crew approached under the moonlight. The beings with her before were pretty drastic with some insane abilities but nothing compared to the creatures before the girl's eyes. They didn't even look remotely human. There was a humanoid frog the size of a normal person, a half human half wolf that reminded the girl of the werewolf stories she used to hear as a child, a skeleton engulfed in flames and many, many others who would surely send the regular assholes she was used to dealing with back home to cry to their mothers. If she wanted any chance of getting out of there alive, Selina would have to wait until Fish was alone and then strike. If she had done anything to her friend, she would get her revenge tonight. 

As a man three times larger than anyone she had seen before punched a hole on the wall like it was made of cardboard, the alarms started to scream and the girl took her chance. She crawled through the spider infested, dark dusty ducts trying to ignore the rats and cockroaches leaving there. It didn't find long for her to find her possible exit onto a desk. Just as she peeked through it, a man's arm was sent flying and hit the wall next to her leaving a splatter of blood. The girl decided to keep on looking.

The second place she encountered was a bathroom. The place seemed clean, it looked like Fish hadn't been able to reach it yet. The girl kicked it open and proceeded to crawl out just as the door to the bathroom slammed open and a man in a lab coat with a large cut on his head tried to run in. Just as his eyes met the girl's, something wrapped around his waist. For a moment, the girl thought it was a wet pink tentacle until she noticed it looked a lot like a tongue. The man screamed before he was pulled out of the bathroom. Selina decided maybe she should check a few more places as the man's screams died down. 

The girl was growing frustrated, there didn't seem to be a single place without one of the monsters in it. How the hell did Fish even get an army this size? Had she freed them all? Why would anyone make creatures like these? More and more questions brewed in her mind as did her worries. Was Ivy among them? No, she wouldn't reach any conclusions until hearing what Fish had to say. 

Finally, she found her way to a cell. It was white, so much so her eyes burned. More so, different from the other cells she saw before this one was filled with books and a table and even a practice dummy. She looked around looking for whoever could be there. As far as her eyes could tell, the place was empty and no one seemed to be coming from the door. Even the bed was under the vent adding up to her luck. This was it. Selina kicked the grid open and jumped on the bed. As she fell on the soft mattress, she heard a gasp that seemed to be coming from under the bed. Her eyes widened and she quickly got to her feet, pulling her knife, "show yourself!" The girl knew she likely shouldn't fight, those monsters could likely take her down easily and she didn't want to deal with the undead creatures she had met before but she also couldn't risk being discovered by fish. "I'm warning you! I'm armed and I won't hesitate to attack!" 

"Ok, ok," the voice that came from under the bed in a rushed tone was oddly familiar. Two shaky hands came out followed by jet black hair and a lanky body. The pale boy got up with his hands in the air and looked at the girl. His hair was longer than the one she remembered and his entirely white uniform was new, but without a doubt the face looking at her was Bruce Wayne's. "Look, I'm not going to hurt you, ok? I promise, but you've got to help me out of here. A lot of people are in danger and we have to help them!"

Selina took a step back as her knife dropped as low as her jaw, "w-what the hell?! Bruce?!"

The boy shook his head, "no, not Bruce. My friends call me Five." 

\---

Wild flashes of colorful lights illuminated the bodies moving within the darkness in a mixtured cacophony people called music nowadays. Call Jim old fashioned, but he would much rather listen to jazz by himself with bourbon on the rocks in one hand than spend money and his night in a crowded nightclub like the sirens. Clearly, the youth disagreed. 

As he pushed through the sea of bodies attempting to prove old Newton wrong. After a harsh battle, he finally made his way to the counter where Barbara was waiting for him in a short sparkly black dress that left very little to the imagination. The woman put her sex on the beach down and smiled at the man with perfect make up, "well, well, if it isn't Jim Gordon, Gotham's prodigal son. What a surprise to see you here."

"You called me here, Barbara," Jim snarled lowly. The woman crossed her legs and patted the stool next to her. The investigator remained on his feet, "you said you found a lead regarding the Wayne case."

After Jim woke up in Bruce's home after being knocked out by who he thought was Ed, the blond male offered to go hunting for the two of them. Much for his surprise, Bruce was the one who told him to stop, not only stop going after Cobblepot but stop looking into the Wayne case altogether which greatly surprised him. Bruce refused to reveal his motives and Jim was left lost. The only logical conclusion was that Oswald had threatened Bruce and Alfred, leading the boy to drop the case altogether. Jim, however, was too stubborn for that. If Penguin wanted to go after him for investigating it, then fine. So be it. Gordon didn't have anything left to lose anyways. He was ready to die for what he thought was right.

"Actually," Barbara sipped her drink, "he was the one who found me." She said and turned to the side to look at a man sitting on one of the tables. 

Jim didn't recognize him at first. The place was too dark and he looked very different from the man he remembered from his childhood. The closer he got to the sad shape downing what appeared to be his fifth glass of whiskey, the less everything seemed to make sense. "Uncle Frank?" After a deep breath, the man turned to look at his nephew with a sad smirk. 

"Jimmy. How are ya? You look tired, life hasn't been easy on ya either, huh?" He poured himself another glass just as a waitress put another one in front of the opposite sit. Frank poured the liquid inside and gestured with his palm for Jim to take a seat. Hesitantly, Jim did. 

"The hell are you doing in a place like this?" 

Frank chuckled, "yeah, I think the ladies might be a little too young for me," he glanced at Barbara who had been joined by Tabitha, they weren't even trying to hide the way they glared at the two, "or too wild." 

"Uncle Frank," Jim called out in a slow but stern tone as he looked at his relative with slightly narrowed eyes, "what are you really doing here?" 

Frank Gordon inhaled before leaning back. He looked at him from behind his mustache, "I'm here because you're swimming in dangerous waters, Jim."

"What do you mean? Are you talking about Cobblepot?"

Frank snorted and shook his head as if Jim was a child trying to act like the adults, "no, son. Cobblepot is not a threat. He never was. He keeps swimming with the big fishes but at some point his gluttony will get him killed."

"Then who?"

Frank pursed his lips and Jim watched as his Adam's apple bobbed up and down. He was hesitating. The man looked to the side at the young women and men dancing. "Look at them. They dance as if they thought they were free and the world could be theirs. None of them know of any of the things out there just waiting to cut their wings." Jim opened his mouth to repeat his question, however Frank continued. "Do you remember about stories of the Court of Owls?"

Jim furrowed his eyebrows at the unexpected question, "yeah, you used to tell them all the times to scare the shit out of me. You made me feel like I was constantly being watched and that, if I wasn't good, they would take me away and make me into one of their talons." 

"See, that's the thing, Jim," Frank pressed the tip of his index finger against the table, "I wasn't telling you those for nothing. It's a good thing that you're scared of the court, it's even better that you don't think they are real. They hate nosy people like that boy of yours."

Jim tried to process what he was saying. Was he telling him that the court of owls was real? "Why would they go after Bruce, unless," he looked down at the table and then up at the other man as realization hit him. "Oswald didn't really kill the Waynes, did he?" 

Frank took Jim's glass and downed it. The man grunted at the burning, "stop looking into it, Jim. The court has their eyes turned to you, I don't know if it's because they want you dead or for you to be a part of them. You want stay away regardless," the older man started to get up but Jim grabbed his wrist before he could. 

"Is the court the one behind Indian Hills too? Are they the ones freeing the monsters?" 

"I spoke too much. We never had this conversation," Frank spoke in a rushed tone and tied to pull his wrist away. 

"They have Tetch too, don't they?" Jim asked and Frank froze, "I was wondering who would want anything with him but it would make sense for people obsessed with control to have someone that can manipulate people into doing their every wish. Who else is with them? Fish? Crane? Fries? What does Oswald have to do with all of this?"

"Jim, let go!" Frank yelled. Jim was about to continue when he was interrupted by his phone. With a curse, he picked it up without letting him go. 

"Hello? Harvey? I'm a bit busy right now, call me-," his eyes widened and his mouth went dry as he listened to his best friend, "what?!" Frank was able to free himself and run away during Jim's astonishment.

"I said," Bullock repeated more loudly so he could be heard more clearly through the loud music, "Lee is back." 

\---

Edward had expected Oswald to have some sort of scar from when he fell but he didn't expected the barely closed hole in the man's stomach. As soon as he saw it, any doubts the man may have had before dissipated and he became immensely grateful to Ivy. No one should have survived a wound like that, let alone be running around assaulting billionaires and planning on taking over the city and neither of the green lovers were taking anymore of that. Much for Oswald's distaste, they forced the short male to stay in bed until his wound had properly healed, a task easier said than done while dealing with someone as impatient and stubborn as the little man. Sometimes Ed wished he still took those pills. 

When she wasn't spending her time tying Oswald to the bed with vines, Ivy would spend most of her time in the green house caring for the plants or reading. Neither of the men seemed to mind, it wasn't as if either of them had much interest in plants anyways. At first, Ed had been apprehensive about keeping the ginger around, in his experience children tended to be loud, mean and overall annoying. Luckily, Ivy was the opposite of that. She'd spend a lot of time to herself and during the times they spoke she proved to be quite knowledgeable herself, albeit in the realm of plants. She was discrete as well and would often act as less of a child than their patient. By the time they had allowed Oswald to start walking again, the two of them had grown familiar and they even became, there he say it, friends.

Quite the opposite had happened with Oswald. Ed barely spoke to the other man unless it was necessary or arguing, sure they'd bicker sometimes before but talking to his best friend had never been something difficult or a task. Now he couldn't find the words. It was almost as if a gap had formed between them and neither could find a way around it. They rarely looked at each other in the eyes and dreadful silence would fill the room whenever they were alone. What had made them grow so different? Had it been the time they were apart or was it something else? No. It took him some time for him to realize that the barrier between them was much older than the attempt on Oswald's life. They hadn't spoken like they used to ever since Isabella came into their lives. Until that point he had been too blinded by a perverted love to notice. Recent events had only widened the gap.

The realization came to him as he was cooking dinner for the three of them. Ivy was still out in the greenhouse and Oswald was in the living room listening to punk rock, not one of Ed's particular preferred styles but to each their own. The other had finally healed up enough for them to start planning their next move which was to recover the Penguin's place as mayor and the best way to do that would be through a press conference. Edward was still working on the details though. 

As the music came to an end, the taller of the two followed the other with the corner of his eyes as he stood to pick a new one. He decided to test his new theory, "dinner is almost ready," he said looking at Oswald. 

"Ok." The other replied as brief and impassive as Ed had feared. He didn't even look at him. This time he didn't let silence follow. He had to tell him the truth.

"I lied to you," he admitted. He finally got the other's vibrant green eyes to mirror his. Ed was still getting used to those, "Isabella and I aren't just taking a break, she," as he looked into the other's eyes his previous confidence left him. What would Oswald think if he found out he had been right? Would that make Ed seem predictable? Uninteresting? A loser? Could he just admit he was wrong like that? "She- she left Gotham. Right after you supposedly died. That was why we broke up, I couldn't just leave, specially with people thinking you had killed yourself, I mean," he chuckled nervously, "you are you. You'd never do something like that!"

Oswald's eyes dropped to his feet and the grin on Ed's face followed. 

"Right? Oswald, you'd never do anything like that, right?" 

Oswald turned around and chose the song before sitting on the couch again. Edward felt his heart fill up with something akin to dread. He inhaled and closed his eyes. Penguin was the next to speak, nothing reassuring however. "I'm sorry that things with Isabella didn't work out. Now that I'm back and you know the truth, I understand if you wish to leave to be with her." The worst part of all was how defeated and genuine the other sounded. It broke Ed's heart. A primal part of him wanted to run to him and hug the man as tightly as he could. He, of course, didn't do that. 

"Right," Edward's voice quivered as he began returning to the kitchen. What had he done to his best friend? As he took a step forward, he noticed as Frank Sinatra sang I love you baby. Oswald had covered his face with his arm but Ed could very clearly see his lips moving even if no sound came out. That was how it had been, wasn't it? The first time he had saved the smaller man he had seemed intangible until the ex forensic scientist resorted to music. Even if the two of them didn't always agree or stayed apart, there was a reason why they had become best friends. They had a connection, more importantly, they understood each other better than anyone else. He just needed to remind Penguin of that. 

As the corner or his lips curled, Ed shortened the distance between them before taking Oswald's hand and pulling him. The man was startled for a moment, "Edward, what is the meaning of this?" 

"C'mon, stand up, mister Penguin," Edward's smirk gained some teeth as he looked at the smaller man. 

Despite his confusion, Oswald got up. "Mister Penguin? What has gotten into you?"

Instead of words, Edward replied by snaking one of his arms around the smaller man while the other took his hand, "what? There's nothing wrong with two friends dancing to good ol' Franky."

"I suppose not," Oswald mumbled as he brought his hand to Ed's shoulder but kept a distance between.

"Pardon the way that I stare," Edward sang as they moved, "there's nothing else compare. The sight of you leaves me weak, there are no words left to speak- oh, sorry." Ed looked at their feet as he mistakenly stepped on Oswald's. He had expected some sort of complain, however, what he got was a chuckle. 

"And they say I'm the one who moves like a penguin. C'mon, let me lead," Oswald moved his arm to Ed's waist while the other did the opposite movement. Despite the height difference, the shorter man conducted them exceptionally well. "Just relax a little. Your body is too stiff. I know this is difficult for you, but dancing isn't about thinking. It's about expressing yourself through your body."

Ed wasn't very good at expressing himself through his words, let alone his body but he tried. For Oswald, he'd try anything, "like this?"

"Yeah, this is much better," the shorter took a deep breath before closing the gap between them. He moved his hips and accelerated with the song, "I love you baby, and if it's quite alright, I need you baby to warm the lonely nights trust in me when I say," Oswald sang softly with his cheek pressed against the taller man's chest. 

_"Oh pretty baby," _both of them sang at the same times, _"don't bring me down I pray, oh pretty baby, now that I've found you stay and let me love you, baby, let me love you." _

_"_I'm not leaving Gotham, Oswald. Not for Isabella or anyone else," the green eyed man looked up, "this city is a part of me too and if she or anyone else can't see that than they aren't worth it. I'd much rather spend my time with you."

Oswald averted his gaze quickly, "good. That is good. I wouldn't want to spend my time with anyone else either." Despite his best attempts to hide it, Ed would hear the smile in Oswald's voice, not to mention the way his entire body relaxed. 

No, he wouldn't never leave Oswald again for anything in the world.

As the song repeated, the two of them continued to sing and dance and laugh. Even when it ended, the two remained like that. Despite what waited for them in the future, for just that night they were both happy. For just that evening, they had become whole again. 

\---

Lee was back, but not out of her own volition. After spending splendid months in Italy with her newly married husband and his family, all she wanted was to keep living in there with the rest of them. Unfortunately, Gotham's general offered Mario a job as part of the administration. He couldn't just refuse something like that and she wouldn't leave her husband alone. Luckily, the GCPD still needed a doctor and the woman was offered her old position. 

If being in that cursed city wasn't enough, her husband had been neglecting her in favor of his new position. She understood it, of course, the job he was doing was extremely important, but she couldn't help the feeling of abandonment growing in her heart. For once in a very long time, Lee had a lot of free time and she despised it. When she wasn't diving into work, she would be out drinking with Lucius and the rest of the forensic team. She could also spend her time with her sister in law who had come to Gotham with them, however, she tried to avoid that. Leslie would never say it out loud, however she didn't trust Sophia. The taller woman didn't even have a good reason besides that everytime Sophia smiled it came out as fake. In short, Lee preferred to spend her time among criminals and dead bodies than with the woman. 

Her most recent hobby was Alice Tetch's blood, the poor girl born with a unique ability who was abused by her brother until breaking point. The doctor couldn't help but feel sorry for her, even with the murders. Nature could be cruel and humans could be even crueler. Perhaps thar was part of the reason why most forms of experimentation with the blood had been had been prohibited. That and what had happened to the late captain Barnes. While Lee wasn't around when he changed, she heard what had happened. Everyone was still speaking of how the captain became the exact type of person he was supposed to hunt. Vigilantes weren't anything new in Gotham, even among cops you'd see one pop up but to think the captain, a good, responsible man, would become one and as brutal as they said he became just because of that was simply frightening. It wasn't just the other officers who were scared, the mayor and those above him were treating it as a potential calamity. Luckily, Bullock had taken over as captain and he still considered Lee a good friend and a competent doctor.

Lee brought the dropper to the cage where they were keeping the rats with all the care in the world and let a single drop of blood fall over their heads. One of the three rats started to react to it only a couple of minutes later while the other three seemed completely normal and stable. To prevent the rat from harming itself or the others, she separated it from the other two, making sure they were as far away as possible. Once that was done, the doctor extracted a small amount of the rodent's blood and brought it over to the microscope. Her jaw dropped behind the surgery mask as she observed the cells react to the fluid. 

Her discoveries were postponed by a knock on the door, "come in," she said and straightened her back as she turned to meet her fellow man of science, Lucius Fox. 

"It's Jim Gordon. Again," the words hadn't even left the dark skins man's mouth and Lee was rolling her eyes. Perhaps avoiding Jim Gordon wasn't the smartest of moves but she didn't want anything to down with him. That guy was toxic, proud and self destructive. He put his job above his own happiness, and while that work in the making of a good cop, it was really bad for someone looking for a relationship. Worse yet, she knew he had stalked her for around two months. He even went to her wedding in disguise. The doctor had no idea what was up with him. He was the one who broke up with her and now he kept chasing after lee like a lost puppy. Couldn't he see that she was not interested? "Look, if you want I can just make up and excuse like the past ten other times but he will keep on coming. Jim Gordon is a stubborn man."

"No," Lee let out a resigned exhale and removed gloves and then her mask, "you're right. I'll just take care of it. Thank you, Lucius," she smiled sweetly at the other man. "How was your date anyways?"

Lucius tried to keep his composure but Lee noticed the smallest hint of a smirk on the corner of his lips, "it was good. Really good. He asked me if he could see me again next Friday." He spoke while avoiding her eyes. He was quite shy and reserved when it came to his personal life. 

"And? You are going, right?" Lee asked as she walked towards him after washing her hands.

"I don't know, there's a lot to do here I haven't had much free time," Lee put a hand on his arm. 

"Lucius, if work is what is keeping you from going I can cover for you. If it's for other reasons, just remember, it's just a date. Everything will be fine and if it isn't, you can always just call me."

The smile that formed on his lips was more pronounced but just as genuine as before, "thank you, Lee. You're a good friend."

"Likewise," she removed her hand and fixed her lab coat, "now, if you'll excuse me, I have an ex to get rif of." Lee said and walked past him. 

Truth be told, she owed Lucius a lot. He was the one who recommended that Harvey hired her back and he was the one who showed her around, introducing her to the new employees -there were quite a few new people, most didn't last very long at their line of work. He had also been the one keeping Jim away ever since the man found out she was back and the woman couldn't help like she was abusing their friendship. He was just a much better person than she was and she honestly hoped he could find happiness. Lucius Fox deserved it. 

It wasn't difficult to find Jim. As expected, the man was in the captain's office talking to Harvey. Both men turned to look at her as she opened the door, not even bothering to knock on it. The private investigator and the doctor maintained their eyes fixed on each other.

"Lee?!" Bullock spoke with surprise and looked between Jim and Leon, "you know what, partner? I will go get that thing I told you I was going to get. You two wait here and, Jim, maybe consider my offer, will ya? We could use a cop and man as good as you, Harvey attempted to wink discreetly but discreet wasn't exactly his forte. As he said he would, the captain left the two of them in his office. 

At first, silence reigned. Lee had nothing to say that her glare didn't already emphasize and Jim seemed to have lost the ability to. "I-," he spoke eventually and swallowed before snapping out of it, "I need your help. With a case." 

Lee sighed and her shoulders slouched. Right. That was why he had been going there all this time. If he wanted to play the professional, she would play the professional. "Fine. Tell me what you need, detective Gordon even though you aren't a part of the force anymore." 

James barely flinched at the poison in her words but she could tell it had affected him, "this is important. He opened up a file with some pictures and walked next to her. "This man is called Carlos Greedant. He was one of the inmates Strange was experimenting on in Indian Hills," the private investigator pointed at the photo of a man in his mid forties. He showed signs of malnourishment and had several poorly healed wounds all over his body. What caught her attention were her eyes, they didn't resemble that of a human. Instead, they were closer to the eyes of an octopus, with the pupil being much wider in a pool of colorful green. 

"Ok, interesting but not the oddest thing I have seen from that place," Lee said.

"Right," Jim licked his lips and brought a different photo from within the files, "this is how I found him in his apartment two days ago after I was hired to look for him."

"Jesus Christ," Lee whispered under her breath as she looked at the picture. The creature in front of her was humanoid but calling it human would be a stretch. Its skin was much softer than a regular person's and the orange coloration on him was similar to that she had seen in a few species of molluscs. The creature had twelve tentacles, four thicker ones where its arms and legs should be and eight in the back of its large head. It looked like something she'd expect in a horror movie. "I-is it- he dead?" 

"Yeah, now look at the eyes," she did as he instructed and noticed the red lines infesting the green. "He wasn't the first one I found like this but he's the first one that showed up dead."

Lee turned to look at the other, her previous annoyance was replaced by curiosity, "and where is it? Where is the body?"

"Destroyed. There was someone else there that night and they managed to burn it down before I could save it, but not before I could take a picture. Do you have any idea what could have happened to him?"

Lee opened her mouth to speak just as loud squeaks followed by a loud crash reached their ears. The doctor and the detective exchanged a glanced before following the sound back to her lab where Harvey, Lucius and the others were stared at all the broken cages with the now beheaded rats inside. The rat Lee ha separated from the others was nowhere to be found, although speculations could be made based on the new hole on the wall the size of a pony. 

"Where did we get those rats?" Jim asked as he turned to face the woman.

Lee licked her lips as she slowly turned to face Jim. Her skin was pale like a ghost's from the shock, "Arkham. All these rats were rescued from Indian Hills."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Per usual, kudos and comments are very appreciated. I really love writing this but since classes are coming back, I don't know when I'll have a chance to post the next chapter, hopefully as soon as possible.


	8. The gentle art of making enemies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's my party by Lesley Gore
> 
> It's my party, and I'll cry if I want to  
Cry if I want to, cry if I want to  
You would cry too if it happened to you  
Nobody knows where my Johnny has gone  
But Judy left the same time  
Why was he holding her hand  
When he's supposed to be mine  
It's my party, and I'll cry if I want to  
Cry if I want to, cry if I want to  
You would cry too if it happened to you  
Playin' my records, keep dancin' all night  
But leave me alone for a while  
Till Johnny's dancin' with me  
I've got no reason to smile  
It's my party, and I'll cry if I want to  
Cry if I want to, cry if I want to  
You would cry too if it happened to you  
Judy and Johnny just walked through the door  
Like a queen with her king  
Oh what a birthday surprise  
Judy's wearin' his ring  
It's my party, and I'll cry if I want to  
Cry if I want to, cry if I want to  
You would cry too if it happened to you  
Oh it's my party, and I'll cry if I want to  
Cry if I want to, cry if I want to  
You would cry too if it happened to you  
It's my party, and I'll cry if I want to

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alternate tittle: The storm
> 
> Lots of action and a bit of horror in here. Also, there are some themes in this chapter that may trigger some people. It's nothing over the top but ya know, thought I'd leave a warning.

The man woke up with a gasp followed by pants. He looked around the pure white run to try and appease his confusion but it only gave space for fear to take over as he witnessed the large syringes and doctors looking down at him with surgery masks covering their faces. "What the hell do you want from me?!" Basil yelled and struggled to get free. 

The only reply he got was the dripping from the bag with some type of serum behind him. That was it, he didn't care if they found out about him, he was leaving. Normally, just a thought would be enough to get his body to shift into the clay like substance but, for some reason, that wasn't happening. He was just as trapped on that metal table as he was in his own body. Before he had a chance to consider a different form of escape, one of the syringes perforated his body. This particular one had a viscous red substance in it.

He screamed, not from pain but rather terror. Were they killing hi.? How did he get there? Did they know about his condition? For how long would he be stuck in that table? 

The last question didn't take long to be answered. Basil arched his back and slammed it back down as he started to convulse. His eyes rolled back in their orbits redder than they should be and yet, all the response of his captors came as a step away from him. They did this and they refused to face their creation head on. Maybe that was how the monster felt when Frankenstein laid his eyes on him for the first time. Hurt. In pain. Confused. Lonely. Most of all, he was angry. 

The roar that came out of Basil was no longer human, in fact, it was just as strong as the rest of his body was, or lack there of. Where once stood a human now had a puddle of moist, clay like substance forming. Basil knew he was already dead, but that didn't stop him from pleading with however was listening not to make him look like more of a monster than he already did.

His pleads were not answered. 

\---

Edward loved him. Oswald was sure of it. The Penguin had always prided himself in his ability to read people. It was thanks to that and a few other things that he got as far as he did when it came to taking over Gotham and love was his specialty. At first, he had thought maybe he had been wrong. With Isabella and the way he reacted, Oswald thought that maybe he had seen something that wasn't there but ever since that night with the dance he was sure of it. What he didn't understand was why he was lying to both of them. Was it obliviousness or was there a deeper meaning? Was he trying to ignore his feelings? Was he ashamed of them? Afraid, perhaps? Oswald couldn't get those thoughts out of his head, even as he stood in front of dozens of people ready to start his speech. He knew this had to be perfect if he wanted to go back to being mayor. Oswald had to focus. 

With Edward by his side and his best suit over his body, Oswald cleaned his throat before looking at all the people focused on him. They had an odd look on their face, but Oswald didn't let that bring him down. With a last glimpse of his chief of staff, he leaned in to start to speak. Things could finally go back to what they used to be. "People of Gotham," he started, "four months ago a tragedy befell upon me and this city and you believed you had lost your fair ruler. The accident was no one's fault, but it's only thanks to those I have by my side that I stand before you today, fully healed and ready to finish what we started. You trusted me to take care of you and our city, I ask you to do that once again and, in exchange, I promise your patience and kindness will be reward." Oswald was still a little disappointed that Aubrey had been reelected after his 'death', however, he also got it. People didn't like change and between being ruled by a familiar charlatan or some nobody who could be better or worse than he, of course they chose the former. He had to remind people why they could trust him and drift from the other's path of lies and corruption. "Aubrey James is sloppy and-"

"GET OUT OF THERE!" A member of the crowd before him interrupted his speech. 

Oswald blinked, bewildered by the sudden sound. Did this guy have a death wish? "Excuse me?" He asked with a mixture of threat and confusion. 

"Liar!" Someone else yelled from the other side of the crowd.

"Murderer!"

"Psychopath!" They continued and with each insult, Oswald's jaw fell more and more. He turned to his partner for some answers but Ed seemed just taken aback as he was. Cobblepot turned to look at them again. 

"I assure you, whatever you have heard about me, is far from the truth-"

"Shut up!" Someone in the back yelled as something went flying towards Oswald's shoulder, the man was left with no reaction and was hit by the foul rotten tomato.

"Thomas Wayne was the only man in this city who ever cared about us, and you killed him!"

"Because of the Waynes I was able to give my family a proper life, but after they died I was laid off with 500 other people! 500! All because of you! How can you be that selfish?!"

"You're a monster, Penguin! You should have stayed dead! At least you'd be more useful then!" 

"Why don't you try killing yourself again, but this time, do it right!" More tomatoes and even rocks came flying towards him. Oswald curled up to try and protect himself from them. 

Edward was finally released from his spell and stepped forward. He used his clipboard as a shield to protect himself and his friend as much s he could. He saw one of the reporters, he was pretty sure her name was Valerie, with their arms lifted and pointed at her with his nose, "yes, you, miss Vale?"

"Mister Cobblepot, what do you have to say about becoming the main suspect of the Wayne case?" 

"What?! When- how?! I was aware of shit!" Oswald yelled as face turned red, not because of the tomatoes. 

"Oswald!" Edward reprimanded as projectiles continued to be flung their way. He knew he shouldn't lose his composure in front of the vultures, but goddammit, they were making that quite a difficult task. 

The other reporters snickered and mumbled among themselves. Valerie remained serious. She straightened her clothes and inhaled with a professional stance before speaking. "Last week an anonymous leaker revealed that the police had reopened the Wayne case and you had become the main suspect, sir.",

"It's all over the news, Penguin!" One of the reporters said, "too much of a penny pincher to get a tv?" He laughed with some others. 

Oswald quickly turned to look at Edward, "how the hell didn't we hear of that?!"

"I-I don't know!" Edward fixed his glasses with a shaky hand. The left lens had a stain of tomato juice dripping from it, "this makes no sense!"

Oswald turned to look at crowd. He roared in rage and grabbed a tomato that came flying his way with surprising dexterity before throwing it at the reporter who had made fun of him. It was a good thing that the tomato was soft since a rock would have done quite a bit of damage, "ALL OF YOU, GET OUT! GET OUT RIGHT NOW!" The kingpin pulled out his gun from his jacket and shot into the sky. All laughter and threats died down as the crowd dissipated in record time. 

Oswald hyperventilated through gritted teeth as the vein on his forehead pulsated. He was furious. The man got down from the stage they had prepared for the occasion and limped through where the crowd had been a few minutes later. His ears were ringing so loudly, he almost didn't hear Edward calling his name until he felt a hand squeeze his shoulder. 

With a turn on his heel, Oswald aimed his fury at his partner, "WHAT?!" 

"I know this is not what you want to hear right now, but you have to calm. Down," Edward wiped some red from the other's suit, "this is just a small inconvenience, once we solve this and prove your influence, they will come back on their knees. All you need to do is calm down. Deep breaths." Edward's hands rose and fell with his chest as he took deep breaths in an an attempt to get Oswald to follow. He did and soon enough both of them were breathing in harmony. It seemed to work enough for the shorter ones skin to return to its usual pale. "Better?" 

Oswald filled his lungs one more time before nodding, "better." He looked at his face for a second before his eyes slipped towards the tall woman coming their way. 

Edward noticed and turned to look at her, "Lee?!" He asked just as an open hand came crashing against his cheek in a slap powerful enough to make the taller individual take a few steps back in disorientation. "OUCH!" The man in dark green yelled and rubbed his fingers against the aching surface, "what the hell?!" 

"That's for Kristen, you asshole!" The woman hissed between her teeth and pressed the tip of his index against his chest. "Enjoy your freedom while you can, Nygma, because once Cobblepot goes to jail you'll get a one way trip to Arkham, I can promise you that." As soon as she came, the woman turned around and left to where a man with black hair and sculped traits was waiting for her without another word. The two shared a quick kiss before they left out of sight. The shorter male recognized the man almost immediately. That was Mario Falcone, he knew this because of the photos Carmine kept with him and the rare moments the two of them talked about family. That made no sense, however. The Don had told Penguin his son had no interest in Gotham. What was he doing here? Things kept getting more weird. 

Oswald turned to look at him, "I'm guessing you deserved that-"

"Quiet!" Edward's voice was low and full of poison but not directed towards him. He was the only one. 

...

As Oswald stormed inside their estate, all that he had in his mind was the longing for the burning of his throat and dull his senses, something he hadn't tasted in a long time. He could feel his brain throbbing against his skull as the previous events lingered in his mind. Fucking bastards. All of them. He had never been exposed to such public humiliation in his entire life. He wanted to hunt each and all of them down and make them watch as his families begged for mercy as the kingpin cut their throats one by one. Unfortunately, he also knew that wouldn't solve the problem. Until the accusations had been dismissed, Oswald would be under constant surveillance. His best bet was to send someone in the GCPD to eliminate any and all incriminating proof. He'd do that tomorrow. Today he was going to drink until he passed out. The man finished pouring the amber liquid from the intricate crystal bottle into his glass and brought it to his lips. He closed his eyes and waited for the fire. It never came. Instead, the glass was snatched out of his hands. The gangster opened his eyes to see his much taller friend holding the glass out of reach with judgemental eyes, "you're not going to drink in a time like this, Oswald! After all that happened, you should have learned your lesson by now. Alcohol is not the solution to your problems, it only makes them worse." 

Oswald rolled his eyes and tried to jump to get the drink, "it makes it so I don't want to blow all their heads out and burn their bodies after! Yes, someone drugged my alcohol once, so what?! It was ONE time! Plus, Ivy was here while we were gone, she would have seen anything."

Edward closed his eyes and filled his lungs with air dramatically, "you are a stubborn, conceited little man who will be killed by your arrogance and selfishness." The lanky male slammed the drink against the counter with such strength that Oswald was surprised the glass didn't shatter. "Do what you want, Oswald! But when things reach its worse again remember this exact moment and who tried to help. I'm going to take a shower," before he could even formulate a response, Ed's back had shifted towards him and his best friend was marching upstairs to his room. 

Oswald watched him before screeching and stomping. Great, now even Edward hated him now. He took the container and admired its contents for a moment before begrudgingly pouring it down the drain. Deep down, Oswald knew Ed was right. He had spent months without a single drop of alcohol and he had survived. Maybe he should make that period longer. His anger faded away and was replaced with tiredness. The man had just returned to Gotham and things were already as awful as they were before. With a suspise, Oswald left the glass in the sink and readied himself to go talk to his best friend. 

"Well, would you look at that. You can teach an old bird a new trick and even do so rather quick." The man with a goatee and a top hat spoke. "He outsmarted you, mr. Crane." He said to the cloak wearing boy- Oswald thought he was a boy despite his feminine features and longer hair- next to him.

The teenager remained aloof, "he didn't outsmart anyone. He just learned from his previous mistake. That's a basic human skill. Good for him." 

The strangers that had invaded his house weren't completely unknown to him. He remembered Tetch from the founder's dinner a long time prior and he read something about Crane and the state he left his son. That didn't answer most of his questions, the biggest one being why was Ivy just standing there between the two invaders with glassy eyes, "What the- Ivy?" He called his accomplice. 

"Right. In that case, you won't mind if we try my instead, correct, my dear good lad?" Tetch asked as Oswald quickly reached inside his jacket for his gun. 

Crane shook his head, "go ahead."

Just as Oswald was pulling his firearm out, Tetch turned to the girl. "Give it a thought, put the Penguin in a knot." Just as he said that, Ivy took a deep breath and all the plants she had decorated the kitchen with grew into gripping vines. They twirled around the smaller male forcing him out of his feet. His gun fell to the floor, "good girl." He said before taking Oswald's gun for himself. 

"Ivy, stop! Why are you doing this?! Look, if it's money that you're after I can offer you double, no, triple of what whoever hired you offered! Please, you can't kill me!" He yelled.

"Oh, spare your breath, Penguin. You don't know how much of it you have left. She can't hear you and it's not money we're after, no, it's something that causes much more joy and laughter." He knew that already. The Penguin just wanted to call for Edward without letting his presence be known. 

"What?" Oswald asked as his face contorted and he struggled against the green moorings. 

"No matter. You could have spared yourself of the pain and fear, Penguin, if only you had chosen to continue with your awful habit. If you had drank that liquor, your heart would have stopped in a matter of minutes and you'd have died a quick and clean death. Now I have no choice but leave your tragic fate in the hands of the youth," Tetch eyed Ivy and shook his head. "Poor thing. I imagine what kind of horrible sufferings she injured because of her extraordinary capabilities. I wonder what you made her go through. It's only fair for her to allow all her hatred to come and destroy its creator. Now, Ivy, be the one to break this bird's wings. Kill Oswald Cobblepot." 

Now, Oswald wouldn't consider himself someone who would get scared often, but at that moment he felt true fear. He wasn't afraid of dying. No, betrayal was what truly terrified him. It was something that plagued his nightmares and left him awake at night. Trust didn't come easy with him, once it grew he latched onto it desperately as if his life depended on it. It had been like that ever since his mother died. 

And he trusted Ivy. He had grown to enjoy the girl's company and her ramblings about plants. Sure, he'd act annoyed but he found them to be endearing. She was caring and kind even if a little naive and impulsive. Oswald truly did care about her, which was why he so desperately pleaded for her to stop with tears in his eyes, "Ivy, listen to me, not to him! This is not what you want! I have been nothing but good to you, I gave you a home and I asked nothing in return!" He felt the viny around his neck squeeze, "ok, fine, maybe I did ask a few things in return and maybe I wasn't the best- the best to be around all the time but I still wanted you around! I still gave you all that you wanted, the clothes, all the plants! I did everything I could and maybe it wasn't much, but I tried! God knows that I tried! I truly did care about you." His voice faltered at the end.

"What are you waiting for?" Tetch asked the girl as she looked at Oswald with glassy eyes, "kill him!"

"But... I don't want to... Pengy is my friend." Ivy's eyes seemed to glimmer for just a second.

Tetch's goatee dropped and even Crane seemed surprised. Who would have thought that there was someone out there who didn't want Oswald dead? "Oh, Ivy, dear Ivy. You're such a good, lovely girl," he put a hand on her shoulders, "you remind me of my dear Alice who was stolen from me out of pure malice. That being said, we don't need good girls right now. Keep the vines up and go to sleep." 

The girl fell back on the floor in deep slumber. As that happened, the grip of the plants loosened up considerably. Just a little more and he'd be able to free himself. 

Tetch took Oswald's gun out and pointed it at him, "that was an adorable display of faith, but you're still going to die, Penguin." 

**Bang!**

Jervis cursed as he dropped the gun and looked at the wound in his forearm and then back at where the shot had come from. Edward stood on top of the stairs with his own revolver pointed at the two. He shot again and again, this time aiming at the green tendrils. His gun didn't have many bullets, but enough of them to give Oswald a chance to free himself. He tried to go for the gun Jervis dropped, however the mad hatter was closer to it and faster. "Shit," the Penguin began backing away.

"Oswald, run!" Edward yelled before throwing the gun at Tetch. He missed, but the distraction was enough to give Oswald a headstart as he ran out of the door. 

"I will go after him," Jervis grumbled through his teeth as he held his arm, "make sure we're not interrupted again." He ran after his target. 

The chase had begun. 

\---

Things were not going as expected. The whole fiasco had been bad enough. As much as Ed despised admitting it, they, mostly Lee, got under his skin and that ended up affecting his mood. He regretted yelling at Oswald as soon as the words left his mouth, and yet he couldn't force himself to apologize. All he could do was insult himself as he banged his head against the door of his room, "stupid, why do you have to ruin everything?!"

_"Oh, but you know why, Eddie," _his reflection in the mirror grinned. He couldn't see his doppelganger but he could feel his eyes against his skin_, "luckily, Oswald is a surprisingly patient man when it comes to us. All we need to do is go back there, apologize, go to Lee's house, slit her throat and boom. Our problems are solved!"_

Edward groaned and turned to look at him, "you know as well as I do that's only going to make things worse."

The Riddler shrugged, _"perhaps, but it's a fun date idea."_ He snorted causing the one in control to roll his eyes. _"You should apologize though. We wouldn't want a repetition of what happened the last time you lashed out at him, would we?"_

Edward felt a chill run down his spine at the idea of losing his best friend again, "no," he mumbled, "we would not." He took a deep breath, "but he's wrong too, you know? This is not the time for drinking! We need a plan, a course of action! This could be very bad for both of us so why won't he just listen to me for once?"

Riddler clapped his hands together in front of his nose and took a deep breath, "_Eddie, listen to me very carefully. Oswald is the person who listens to you the most, in fact, I don't know how he does it! Whenever you open your food hole I'll start reciting pi in my head just so I don't have to listen to your ramblings. Maybe that's the problem."_

"What do you mean?"

"_We're not used to people listening to you, much less trusting you. Everyone else treats you like an annoying nerd or a monster. Oswald is the only one who has ever showed us true respect and even care and that terrifies you." _

Edward crossed his arms and scoffed, "are you suggesting that I'm afraid of my best friend?" Ed pointed his finger at himself, "please. Isabella treated me like that as well and besides, who the hell made you my therapist?" 

_"Isabella saw you as a loser easy to manipulate to get close to Oswald. She saw you as bait. And for a matter of fact, you did during your 8th birthday. Not only did you organize a secret party that no one attended to but you were also pranked twenty eight times during that day. Father later found out and he broke your arm. That was the first time we ever saw each other." _Riddler said all knowingly. 

"I didn't need a reminder," Edward jumped as he heard Oswald yell in distress. The reflection copied his gaze perfectly during the moment that took him to realize what was happening and the man practically threw himself on the drawer looking for a gun. 

After that, everything happened quickly. Shots were fired, bullets were missed, words were said and his best friend ran for his life while Ed was left alone with Jonathan Crane. They exchanged a stare, "listen, kid, I don't know why you're doing this but I recommend that you don't stand in my way. I may not like to kill people under the age of eighteen, however, I will do it!" He'd also like to study and, perhaps, improve the design of the glove but that was probably a bad time. 

Crane pulled his hoodie over his head and pointed his index finger at his enemy. The needle on the end of the glove almost looked like the claws of a predator, "**I will make you taste fear,**" he said in a voice far too deep and ruff for a kid. Jonathan began climbing the stairs. 

Edward didn't wait any longer. He rushed into his bedroom, closed the door and grabbed his cane before hiding next to hinges. 

Crane slammed the door open and walked inside, "**yes, run and hide. Can you feel your heart pounding in your chest? The sweat over skin? Embrace that feeling, only then can you be free."**

"Boy, you're even crazier than the other guy," Edward left his hiding and pressed the question mark against the other's cloak before releasing a powerful discharge. The man smiled and then he frowned. Not only did the kid remain on his foot, he was uninjured. 

Crane chuckled, **"fool. Did you really think I didn't know about your staff? We know everything about both of you. You're an open book to us, Edward Nygma."** He turned around and took Edward's cane from his hand forcing the other to take a step back. "**Give it up, Nygma. You lost. All that is left is fear.**" 

Edward tried to bring his arms in front of him to defend himself but he was too slow and the needles sunk into his neck. He jerked and gasped at the sudden pain. 

**"Yes, like that,"** Crane smiled under his thick black cloak as the substance was injected into the other's neck. **"Now,** **scream**!" He cackled and took a few steps back to let Ed fall to his knees. 

Nygma didn't scream. His heart didn't accelerate nor did he start to sweat anymore than he had. His neck was itchy and he felt a little dizzy but, other than that, he was fine. The male turned to look at him, "I am curious, what were the expected effects of this drug?"

It was Crane's turn to display confusion and be repealed by the other man, "**what?! How?**!" 

"Please, do tell," he stood up and leaned against the wall, "I am legitimately curious. Were those some type of hallucinogens? I could make use of them later," he took a step closer. 

"**Impossible**!" The younger yelled as his back hit a wall, "**how are you not affected?!" **

Ed chuckled, "ah, yes. Quite a conundrum, isn't it? Well, they don't call me the Riddler for nothing," he swung his cane, hitting Crane's head with enough strength to knock him out, "I will let you figure this one on your own." 

\---

Oswald had never been a big fan of nature. He was an urban guy, he liked the movement of the city, he liked being around people and never stopping. He liked the asphalt, the streets and the assholes trying to play each other. When he first moved into the Van Dahl estate, he hadn't minded how secluded the place was nor the woods surrounding it but as he ran through the mud and dead leaves he couldn't help but start to hate it. His life had become one of Edward's horror games he loved to play. Oswald had always been awful at those.

The bulled hit The tree next to the smaller male and he ducked, "stop with the running, all know your expertise is to be cunning!" His chaser panted behind him. Oswald was beyond thankful that his attacker was someone even less fit than he was. Even with a bad leg, the Penguin still could outrun him. Did this guy even know what jogging was? The advantage was big, but it wasn't enough to save him from a gun. After three misses, Tetch finally managed to strike his leg. The wound wasn't deep, however, it was enough to make the former mayor lose his balance. He rolled on the dirt before stopping on his stomach. Oswald coughed a few times and tried to get on his feet only to be interrupted by a pocket watch on his face. "Look here, Oswald. Let the ticking synchronize with your heart. Clean your mind, forget the world. There's only you and the watch."

Cobblepot tried to look away. He knew that this was a trap, he knew he needed to run but the watch was so tempting. The kingpin's eyes were locked.and there was nothing he could do. 

Tetch slowly reached to pull a hidden blade from within his clothes and placed it on the Penguin's hand. Oswald looked down at it and Jervis leaned in close to whisper into his ear, "I bet you must be tired, aren't you? Outside you are the all powerful Penguin but on the inside you're just a lonely man. I imagine you want love, you want to care about someone and yet, no one could love you back. How could them?"

Oswald's eyes became watery, he didn't know how he was doing that and worst of all, it was working. The fears and anxieties he kept locked in his heart crept back to his mind and corrupted his soul with thoughts he tried to ignore. They screamed into his ears. 

"You can never be happy, Oswald, but you can make the hurt stop. You can find silence, solace. Just take the knife and do to yourself what you've done to so many others before. Seize the noise. Forget love. Give up on happiness. Do what you want to do. Free yourself."

Oswald looked between the blade and the hypnotist. He couldn't fight back the tears. The metal was thin and sharp. It would cut through skin like butter. 

And it did. 

Oswald lifted the knife before sinking it into his body, again and again with a roar. His hands were covered in red. Tetch's eyes grew larger as he gasped.

Finally, the Penguin stopped and looked at the blood, not his, but Jervis. The man had been stabbed in the stomach five times. "There," Oswald spit out and wiped his tears quickly, "I did what I wanted to do. You REALLY should be more careful with your words. Welp. Now to finish the job-," before the smaller man could deal the finishing blow, something sharp cut the back of his hand. He yelped and jumped as he looked at the object, a metal star like the ones from the japanese movies Ed liked to watch, he was pretty sure it was called a shuriken. He stared at the weapon for only a second before turning to look at the hand that had thrown it along with the body it was attached to. 

Oswald had had to deal with an annoyingly large amount of men in tights in his life, most of which were against him, but this bozo took the cake. The guy looked like had jumped straight out of a comic book with his black jump suit and even a mask that only covered his eyes. He slowly walked towards him. Cobblepot didn't need to be a genius, even if he was, to figure this guy was on team crazy assholes trying to kill him. Between his injured hand and leg, the smaller male wasn't in much of a condition to run and fighting was out of the question. His enemy was twice his size and armed with a japanese sword. He could either talk or pray that the gun the mad hatter had stolen still had any bullets, "now there, you should think this through, your buddy got hurt pretty badly!" He put his hands in the air, drops of blood fell on the gras, "if you don't take him to a hospital he's going to die! How about we call it a tie, cut our losses and each party goes in their merry way?" He offered while backing away from the dying man. He needed to show he was no longer a threat. 

As he looked at the unmoving force with glassy eyes, Oswald realized two things. First, Tetch wasn't this guy's partner. He didn't even care if he lived or died. The long haired male long passed out from blood loss and the ninja like guy was still coming. He showed absolutely no compassion.

He wasn't going to take any chances. Despite the pain, the smaller man tossed himself over the gun and shot the odd one in the heart. The man faltered back for only a moment before continuing to walk towards the Penguin with empty eyes and a hole in his chest. The shorter tried again, this time he aimed between his eyes. Oswald had always had great aim, which was lucky since that was the last bullet. Any other person would have been dead without a doubt, and yet, the thing in front of him readied his blade as he prepared to strike despite the blood pouring from between his pupils. Cobblepot was so taken aback by the sight he just froze there. What the hell was he?! If it wasn't for Edward appearing and striking the man on the head, he'd have become a victim to this monstrosity. 

The undead ninja creature fell to his left, allowing Edward to come for Oswald's aid, "are you ok? Oh dear, you were shot! And what happened to your hand? Oswald? Oswald, talk to me!" His chief of staff shook him by the shoulders. 

With a hiss of pain, the ex mayor snapped out of it, "I'm fine, I'm fine, they were just scratches." 

"Just scratches?!" Edward snapped, "Oswald, I don't know what the hell is going on but these are NOT just scratches! I- what the?" Both friends turned to watch as their enemy got back on his feet. "Oh. Oh, that's not good, what is that?" 

"No idea, but I think it's a good time for us to run!" Oswald turned around and tried to limp away as fast as he could. Luckily, he had the lengthy male as support. 

"Given the circumstances, that seems like a superb plan!" Ed practically carried the smaller as they quickened their pace. 

One would expect undead creatures to be slow, but again, they also said zombies died with a bullet to the brain. This one was very much still fast and moving after them. The being threw his sword at them which barely missed. "Fuck!" 

"Oswald, are you alright?" Edward quickly searched for any injuries.

"We need a new plan," the older replied, "we can't outrun this thing, we will have to fight it."

"How?! You shot it in the head and it's still coming!"

"I know, I know that, alright?! I need you to trust me. Can you distract him for two minutes?" Penguin asked. 

Ed took a deep breath to try and relax, "for you, Oswald, I can make it two minutes and a second." He took a defending stance, cane in hands. 

The smaller male couldn't help the smirk that formed, "I'm counting on you." 

If Oswald didn't know any better, he'd think Ed's cheeks reddened. What he did know was that a large grin grew on his lips before he charged at their unarmed foe. 

The tall brunette jabbed his weapon. The man stopped the attack by grabbing under the question mark and kicked the cane, breaking it in two. "Oswald?" Edward took a few steps back while looking at his broken weapon, "can we make it one minute instead?" Nygma let out a gasp as their opponent tried to kick over his shoulders. He was thankful for all the years dodging from the bottles his father threw at him because he was pretty sure that kick would have torn his head from the rest of his body. The man fell back on the mud and was left with little reaction as their attacker loomed over him with a piece of his broken crane. "OSWALD!" Edward yelled and brought his hands over his face as the threat shoved the sharp part towards his heard. 

Red. The opposite of green. The color stood out against Edward's clothes even with the tomato juice splatters everywhere. It took Edward a moment to process that the blood wasn't his, but rather that of the headless man who once stood over him. His body fell on the dirt while the head fell on Edward's lap. He looked at it and then looked up at his best friend. Even with all the blood over his glasses, he could still make out his small, intimidating shape holding the sharp blade. His chest moved quickly and he panted as much as Ed. For a moment, they just stared at each other before both laughed at the same time. Fuck, that had been intense. For a moment, Oswald really thought he was too late. He almost lost Edward and yet, all he could do was laugh! It wasn't funny but it was hilarious. 

Cobblepot offered Nygma a hand. He took it and was soon standing in front of his best friend. They just looked into each other's eyes for a moment. They both both smiled as relief filled them. Ed was the one to speak first, "that sword will work well as a cane for now."

Oswald looked down and the blade and snickered as he nodded, "yes, it will." 

Both of them jumped at the same time as the decapitated body moved. "You gotta be kidding me," the ex chief of staff whispered, breathless.

Oswald pulled his arm, "I say we run."

"Great idea," and just like that, their legs began moving again even though they could barely stand at that point. 

\---

Thank goodness she was breathing. Bruce could only imagine what Selina would do to him if Ivy had been seriously hurt. The girl was unconscious but unharmed. Once they returned to the mansion, he'd have Alfred take a look at her. Right now they needed to find Cobblepot and Nygma. 

Originally, the boy had come to Oswald's mansion to tell him about what he had found. He tried calling however it always went to voice mail without ringing even once, meaning either he had turned his phones off or someone else did. His instincts told him it was the latter and the multiple signs of a gun fight in the house proved him right. 

Alfred was currently driving over the mud and between the dark the trees as they tried to find the duo or, at the very least, their attacker. The gunshots they heard in the distance were a good hint as to where to start. It took them a few minutes before they caught sight of the pair covered in dirt, blood and tomato sauce for some reason. The butler stopped the car abruptly and the lights shined at the two men with their surprised faces and the protective arms in front of each other. It truly was nice to see that even Oswald Cobblepot and Edward Nygma had someone to care for who cared for them as well. 

Bruce lowered the window and looked out so they'd be able to recognize him, "get in!" He yelled. 

"Bruce?!" Oswald's voice cracked. Both adults exchanged a glance before mutually deciding to go inside the car. No words needed. 

The doors in the back opened at the same time and they threw themselves in. "Are you two ok?"

"Oswald was wounded," Edward replied in record speed, "he needs immediate treatment before his injuries have a chance to get infected-"

"God, how many times do I have to tell you I'm absolutely fine? I'm more worried about Ivy," Penguin looked down at the girl between them. 

"She's uninjured," Bruce assured him, "tell me what happened."

"We were attacked," Edward removed his glasses to clean them with a handkerchief that was, somehow, still dry. "Jervis Tetch and Jonathan Crane invaded the mansion and hypnotized Ivy. They underestimated us and were defeated, not that the result could have been anything different but then we were attacked by... something else." Bruce could tell the man was struggling to find the proper way to describe whatever had attacked them. 

"It's good to see your recovery went well, mister Pennyworth," the orphan was pretty sure Oswald was trying to be amiable but it came out as cynical to both him and his guardian. 

"Mate, do all of us a favor and shut up before I give you a taste of how well it went," Alfred said through gritted teeth. 

Oswald nodded, "you know what? That's fair."

"Nygma," Bruce changed the subject back, "what were you running from?"

The tall individual opened his mouth to speak before quickly shutting it as his eyes darted behind the orphan. He pointed to the spot he was looking at and Bruce followed. 

Now, as a gothamite, Bruce had seen many odd things over the years but a headless man walking towards them while carrying his head was definitely a first. "What in tarnation is that?!" Alfred asked, likely just as surprised as the boy. 

The billionaire turned to look at his mentor, "take them back to the mansion and care for Cobblepot's injuries. I will meet you there."

Alfred grabbed the boy's wrist, "wait, master B, what do you think you're doing?!"

"This is them, Alfred. I'm sure of it. This might be the piece of the puzzle we need to make a case."

"What are you two blabbering about?" Nygma looked between them. 

"Tell me, mr. Nygma, have you heard tale of the court of owls?"

Edward furrowed his eyebrows and frowned. While he had no idea what he was talking about, Oswald's face paled down and his jaw dropped. Right. Nygma hadn't been born in Gotham, he likely hadn't heard of the local urban legends however Penguin had for sure. 

Bruce pulled his arm away from Alfred and quickly hopped out of the car, "MASTER BRUCE!"

"Just go, Alfred! I will be fine!" He said and brought his fists in front of his face. He waited for the slow creature to get close enough before he kicked its chest, sending it to the ground. The thing was slow and lacked balance. How hard could it be? Bruce looked back at Alfred and nodded to let him know he'd be fine. The orphan could see worry and hesitance in the eyes of his caretaker but he nodded and proceeded to drive away. 

The billionaire focused on the monster once again as it got back to its feet. Bruce had a feeling that would be a long night. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That was intense. Now, to my ramblings:
> 
> I think Jervis' powers are very interesting, however I believe Gotham makes him too OP. He explicitly says that he can only make people do what they want to do and yet they always obey to his every command. I'm changing that a little. His powers work the same but he isn't a demigod that can control people however he wants. Don't worry, I intend on making his powes more useful later on >:D
> 
> If you're curious as to why the fear toxin didn't affect Ed, well, that's for later. Be patient. We still have seven chapters left and I don't want to spoil the fun ;D
> 
> Lastly, yes, Edward did deserve that slap for what he did to Kristen. Don't worry, I think he'll recover.


	9. Light the Wick

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If I had you by Al bowlly 
> 
> You're my everything underneath the sun  
You're my everything rolled up into one  
You're my only dream, my only real reality  
You're my idea of a perfect personality  
You're my everything, everything I need  
You're the song I sing and the book I read  
You're a way beyond belief and just to make it brief  
You're my winter, summer, spring, my everything  
You're my everything (everything I need)  
You're the song I sing and the book I read  
You're a way beyond belief and just to make it brief  
You're my winter, summer, spring, my everything

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapters might be coming out a little slower because of college and a few other projects. I do intend on ending this in the next two months though. Btw, very dialogue heavy chapter. 
> 
> Kudos and comments are appreciated.

_Once upon a time _

_There was a little boy_

_The little boy had a mother, a father and a cat like so many others do_

_But the little boy was never happy and kept wanting more and more_

_His parents loved him very much and kept trying to get him all that he wanted until they ran out of money_

_But the boy still wanted more_

_So they took more_

_They took what wasn't theirs until their pockets could carry no more_

_But all comes with a price_

_All comes with a place in the world_

_And those who decide the price and the place of all were not happy with the boy's family_

_So they took something in exchange for all that had been taken_

_Just like that, the boy was taken away_

_And the family was left to weep_

_So beware of what you want and how much you want, little child_

_Or the Court of Owls may decide you are a good price to pay for it_

_\---_

"Ouch!" 

"The more you move the longer it will take," Jonathan Crane murmured as he continued to stitch Tetch's wounds in the back of the van they had used to get there. They were lucky they had come prepared otherwise Jervis wouldn't have survived. 

They had underestimated their enemy, Jervis had to admit. No wonder Oswald had crawled his way to the top in such short time. The little man was something else. He'd have to rethink their strategy if they wanted to take him down, "that bastard."

"You lost a lot of blood. Try to relax. If they were to come for us, they would have done so already," Jonathan assured him with a monotone voice. 

"I'm more worried about Kathryn. I don't think she's someone who takes failure very well," he said and winced as Crane cleaned whatever blood there was left. 

"Probably not," he agreed and wrapped the bandages around him. "There. Try not to move too much. I'd recommend that you lay down for today, but I doubt you will listen."

"Thank you, mister Crane," Jervis said as he sat up despite Crane's recommendation. "You're quite skilled when it comes to medical support despite your young age."

"My father thought it would be a practical skill to have, specially in our field of study."

"Your father sounds like quite the logical man. I can't think it was easy for you," Jervis looked down at where his wounds were. 

Crane's head fell and his eyes became hidden by his dark hair, "no," he whispered, "it wasn't," the teenager took a deep breath. "It wasn't always that bad, but my father never got over my mother's death."

"Ah, I see. Death is not something one can get over easily. I'm still trying to process what happened to my dear Alice. That being said, you didn't deserve to be mistreated for it either. You had no blame in the matter," he put a sympathetic hand on his shoulder. Jonathan looked at it and then at the other man's eyes before smirking. It was such a small, shy gesture Tetch was left wondering if he hadn't imagined it. "Say, we could go back to Kathryn and endure her scream at or we could stop for a few and get some ice cream."

"You shouldn't be getting anywhere besides a hospital, but sure. Ice cream sounds good." This time he was sure of it. Crane was smiling at him, it was barely noticeable but it was no illusion. It was nice to know there was still a kid in him deep down. 

\---

"Ridiculous," Edward scoffed, "this is absolutely ridiculous even for my standards. A conspiracy theory based on a fable to scare kids? Next thing you'll tell me the guy we were fighting is a ghost!" The taller man gestured at the headless corpse laying on the metal table which Wayne just conveniently had laying around. Really, this kid was somehow weirder than he was. 

"Then what is your explanation, eh, mate?" The butler asked protectively with his arms crossed. 

"OBVIOUSLY this has something to do with Fish Mooney, perhaps even Barbara Kean. BOTH of them had reason to want him- us dead!" He threw his arms in the air and glanced at Oswald. Bruce had been cordial enough to allow the three of them to take a shower and even gave them some clean clothes. Seeing Ivy annoyed at the black turtleneck was mildly annoying and the large clothes that belonged to Thomas Wayne over Oswald's body made him seem even smaller. He'd never use the word cute to describe Penguin but it was applicable, "Oswald, tell them!"

Cobblepot had been sitting next to the girl as she ate a piece of bread. He hadn't said a word since Bruce proposed the idea. 

"Oswald?" Ed called again as he furrowed his eyebrows in worry. 

"I'm listening," bright green eyes finally looked up at him, he was starting to get used to them, "I believe him."

Edward blinked, "what?!" 

"Fish wouldn't come after me, Ed. Not after-," a sharp breath from the smaller, "she just wouldn't. Plus, I saw several other children disappear out of nowhere, mostly from the streets. It makes sense."

"Oswald, this is Gotham! People disappear all the time! Listen to yourself, you're letting your own feelings regarding Fish bind you!"

Oswald sat up with a finger pointed at Ed and a brutality that forced Ed to take a step back and hold a breath in. "I'm not the one who allowed a viper into our garden and poison my best friend for a quick one, _Edward." _

The taller one was immediately shut down. That stung. A lot. Oswald knew exactly where to press to make it hurt the most. Normally, he found this ability amusing and formidable but not when it was used on him. 

The shorter lidded his eyes and exhaled. His body relaxed and his hand adjusted his large clothes instead, "think about it, Ed. You saw the basement in Arkham. Fish wasn't the orchestrator of that. She was the victim. Ever since Falcone's time, Arkham had away been regarded as a precious territory. I never understood why, it wasn't a particularly rentable place. How did Falcone know about the monsters in there? More importantly, what would anyone gain from these things?"

_Who runs Indian Hill?_

Every answer could only be found after the right questions had been asked. Ed had been to realize what the right question is, or, perhaps, he'd been too prideful to see. It wouldn't be the first time. 

Bruce cleaned his throat, "as I was saying, my investigation has led me to believe Oswald wasn't the one responsible for my parents' death, and even if you were, the way I acted was violent, dangerous and childish. I'm glad Ivy was there to rescue you," he nodded while staring at the floorboards under his feet, "I suppose that what I'm trying to say is, I'm sorry for kidnapping and beating you and Alfred is sorry for shooting you."

Alfred rolled his eyes, "sure, whatever you say master B."

"Well good," Oswald adjusted his cuffs, "you should be sorry, not for trying to kill me, I get that, believe me, but for not bringing a gun or some back up plan. I'm certainly not sorry for trying to kill you." He looked into the boy's eyes, "if you ever decide to do what you were about to do to me, make sure you have the guts and the right tools for the job."

Bruce pursed his lips, "I did. My mistake was letting my emotions get the best of me and allowing you to recognize my voice, but if you're referring to killing you, that was never my intention."

Oswald scoffed, "then you're even more foolish and naive than you look, boy. If you wish to get anywhere in this world, you must be ready to get your hands dirty. If you win," he threw his arms into the air, "you live! If you lose, you die," one of his digits swiped over his neck, "in either case there's a very likely chance someone close to you will get hurt. If you don't believe me, ask anyone else in this room, including your butler," Alfred narrowed his eyes, "and if you can't understand that you're not ready to take on the court or whoever our enemy is." Oswald took a step closer to Bruce and looked down at the boy, "who prevails are those capable of watching the world beneath from a pile of the corpses of the people you know." 

Bruce took another step closer. They were inches away from each other and the glimmer in neither of their determined eyes never weakened, "with all due respect, mister Cobblepot, but I disagree. If you kill someone you're just not winning, you're stealing the other person's chance to win, maybe because that possibility scares you and that's just plain out cowardice."

"You little-," Oswald threatened to lunge forward until Edward's fingers held his wrist to keep him in place. 

Edward shook his head slightly, "Oswald, don't." His voice was soft, and, like the lullaby appeasing the beast, the smaller man deflated with a groan before pulling his hand away. 

"Plus," Bruce continued with his stoicism, "going into battle expecting sacrifices is admitting defeat to your own weakness. What is the point of fighting if you'll come out with less than you had before? That is why, mister Cobblepot, I promise you that as long as we're fighting together, you don't have to worry about losing anything or anyone."

Oswald turned his back towards them and rubbed his wrist, "don't make promises you cannot keep, kid." The kingpin exhaled, "God, you're even more irritating and pretentious than Jim. I never thought that could be possible."

The corner of Bruce's lips curled slightly, "so I've been told."

All men turned to look at Ivy as she yawned loudly, "are you two keep talking nonsense or can we just get to the point already? If I knew this was so boring, I'd sleep some more." She grumbled.

"Ah, yes, Ivy, I actually wanted to speak to you," Bruce said and looked at the girl. "Could we speak in private?"

"Not really," Ivy shrugged, "if you wanna get rid of your butler, billionaire boy, go ahead, but my partners stay with me at all times." A sense of pride washed over Ed. He wondered if that was what being a parent was supposed to few like. 

"Very well," Bruce pressed his lips together as he turned to look at Ivy, "I think you should go talk to Selina. She was worried sick about you."

"Hah, please!" Ivy fell back onto the couch with her arms crossed, "she doesn't care! She never did! That bitch let Fish do what she wanted to me, the person who was supposed to be her best friend! Selina only cares about herself, so she can stay by herself too." 

"I don't think that is true, miss Pepper. After you went missing, Selina began looking for you everywhere. She even went as far as to ask for my help and fight Fish on her own."

Ivy blinked, "she- she did? No, no, you're lying! Selina is selfish and arrogant and a horrible friend! Besides, I don't need friends! I just need Pengy and Eddie, they actually care for me and trust me! They don't treat me like a stupid little girl who can't do anything on her own!" She huffed and glared at the ceiling.

"I don't mean to intrude," Pennyworth said, "but there wasn't a single lie in what master Bruce said. Miss Kyle was so dead set in finding, she even dragged Bruce along to one of our green pole mate's traps, ain't that right?" 

Ivy turned to look at Ed and the man cleaned his throat before adjusting his glasses, "that is correct. I ran into Brucie and homeless girl- Selina once or twice during my own investigation," Ed glanced at Oswald, "and, as someone who has been in a fairly similar situation, I advise that you at least give her a chance. Knowing that you could have prevented the disappearance or even the death of someone close to you had you only paid attention to them more than to your own life is not something I wish to experience again any time soon. I understand that you may be mad, you have the right to, however that is not a pleasant feeling, certainly not a feeling she deserves." 

"Oh, please," Oswald rolled his eyes, "do you even know where Selina is? If she wanted to be found, she'd had left something. Besides, you heard Ivy! She doesn't want to talk to her! Plus, knowing Fish, Selina is probably dead or one of her slaves! I think I know what I'm saying when I say that she isn't the most merciful person exactly," the kingpin pointed at his bad leg for emphasis. 

Ivy stood up, "you're right, Pengy."

Oswald smirked smugly, "thank you. At least someone recognizes it."

"If Selina is fighting Fish on her own, she has no chance of winning. If I were to let that happen, I'd be as bad she was and, like you said, I should always strive to be better than my enemies and allies." 

"I- That's not-," before Oswald could argue, a pair of arms,one of which were green, wrapped around the male making him flinch. 

"I know. I don't want to leave you either," Ivy whispered, "but this isn't goodbye. I'm still your and Eddie's partner. I just have somethings to do first, and then, we can go back to planning to take over Gotham together. Plus, I'm sure you can deal with this court of whatever on your own, Pengy." 

"Of course I- we can," he took a deep breath, "and I won't say that I will miss you, you annoying brat." His voice was soft and weak and Ed could tell his friend was struggling as to not tear up. 

"I know you won't," Ivy assured him and squeezed the man tighter. 

"Good," Oswald finally wrapped his arms around the girl and buried his nose into her red hair, "be careful, alright? And if you need anything, don't hesitate to call. My friend." 

Ivy pulled away to look at him with tears in her eyes as well and a sad smile, "of course, my friend." Oswald nodded slightly before slowly letting go of her. He turned his back and left the room, likely so the other wouldn't see him cry.

The ginger used her chance to wrap her arms around Ed this time around. He patted her back awkwardly. The Riddler wasn't in the verge of tears like his best friend but he understood the other's sense of worry, "I'll make sure to water your plants while you're gone."

"Not too much," she joked. 

"Never too much," he agreed. 

"Take care of him, ok? Pengy is a complicated man but he's not as bad as people think."

"I know," Edward agreed and it was true. Sure, Oswald was evil, there was no denying that, however he wasn't necessarily a bad man. He was lonely and angry and stubborn and prideful and greedy but not bad. Despite everything, he truly had Gotham's best interest in mind and that was what set him apart from the other's. Penguin lived under the pretense that the goals justify the means. 

"Do you have any idea where miss Kyle may be?" Alfred asked. 

Ivy faced him, "I have a few guesses. Selina isn't as others may think she is." 

The butler nodded, "very well, I'll prepare a few snacks for your journey. Master B, care to join me?" 

Bruce was still looking at the door Oswald passed through, "I- yes, of course. Ivy, I know there are quite a few things that you don't eat, could you help us as well?" 

Ivy nodded, "yeah, ok."

The trio left Edward alone and the man used that chance to go after Oswald. He found the smaller man in the bathroom. The door was open, "Oswald?" He called and stepped closer. 

"You can leave if you want. This isn't your battle to fight," the smaller looked at his own reflection as he spoke. 

Edward watched him for a moment, "I'm aware," he stepped closer, "I've been aware of that from the start, however I'm not leaving you behind."

"You aren't?" Oswald turned to him with expectant eyes that, for some reason, made Ed's heart skip a beat. His face was wet the water he'd used to wash away the tears. 

"Of course not, this is the greatest riddle of all time, and I intend to be the one to find the answer to it," that wasn't the entire truth, however, he wasn't ready to admit it. Not yet. 

Oswald's eyes showed disappointment and yet a smile formed in his lips. He nodded, "alright, my friend. In any case, I think we've done enough of running so far. It is time we start counter attacking."

There he was, the determined man he had grown to admire over the months they stayed together, "I assume you have a plan." 

"Maybe, I still need to work out the details but that's why I keep you around, my friend."

Edward grinned widely, "oh, I'm sure there are a few more reasons but hey, whatever makes you happy. Shall we get to work?" 

\---

Gotham had always been a particularly odd place but these was taking things too far. If a mutated rat wasn't enough, the headless rats she was ready to count as dead began moving on their own. Luckily, she had been the only one to see it and the rats died for good a few hours later anyways. Still, that wasn't like anything she'd ever seen before. There was something very wrong on and yet no one else was looking into it. 

She couldn't really trust anyone. Not even her superiors. Perhaps stealing rats wasn't exactly the most noble of actions, but desperate times needed desperate measures.

"So, watcha doing?" Lee jumped as her husband's hand crept its way onto her shoulder. 

"Ah!" Her eyes went from the contaminated rats to her husband's complexion, "oh, nothing. Nothing."

"Your nothing seems an awful lot like rats. I thought we agreed to leave work at work." 

"We did," Lee agreed, "I just- I guess I'm paranoid. Jim showed me some things a few weeks ago and I can't get my mind out of it."

"Hm, it must be something horrifying to shake you up this much," he said as he brought his arms around the woman's waist and kissed her cheek. "It's ok, I will forgive you this once because I also brought something for the campaign. No live animals though," Mario kissed the woman's cheek again. 

"Campaign?" She repeated and looked back at him. 

The man tilted his head slightly, "yeah? I'm running for mayor, remember?"

"Oh," she moved her hand dismissively, "right, of course. Sorry, this is driving me crazy. How about I go prepare dinner and then I can help you?"

"Way ahead of you. Dinner is ready, in fact, I came here to invite you to join me."

"Oh, Christ, how long have I been staring at rats?" She looked at the small creatures as they smelled the air. 

"Hm, about two hours since I arrived. I don't know how long before that," her husband shrugged. 

"Yeah, I definitely need a break. I'll wash my hands and join you in a moment." 

"Good," Mario pecked her lips and let go of her waist, "I can't wait for dessert." He winked at her before making her way through the door and Lee could almost swear his eyes looked a little red under the light. It was official, paranoia was getting the best of her and soon she'd need to be sent to Arkham. The doctor just hoped she'd be able to make some progress before that happened. 

\---

A part of Jim had always wanted to be in someone's living room as they arrived and saw him there. He'd seen that in movies many times before, but what they normally leave out is the amount of waiting required. The PI sat in the darkness of his uncle's apartment for hours as he waited for him to return. He knew his uncle was a heavy drinker, but coming back home past 3 am was even beyond Harvey's level and, surprisingly enough, worry filled the younger man. Regardless of what was going on, they were still family and after his father die, all he and his mother had to take care of them was his uncle. Even if misguided, deep down he was a good man and someone Jim loved. After this was said and done he'd start taking care of him. Maybe he'd force him to move in with the ex cop. 

As James thought about the future to pass time, the door opened and the lights went on, "what the?!" The elderly asked and Jim could smell alcohol all the way from the armchair. 

"Uncle Frank, we need to talk," Jim stood up with his eyes fixed on him. 

"I don't have anything else to tell you, son. Now get the hell out of my house. How did you even get in?!" 

"Lock picking your door wasn't the hardest task I've come by," Jim folded his eyes. He wore a stoic face, "I want you to tell me more about the court."

"Knowledge is dangerous and you've known enough."

"Uncle Frank, people are dying, innocents and victims of Hugo Strange! Are you gonna let them?"

"Yeah, if that means keeping you safe! I've had a lot of people die because of them, I won't lose you too."

Jim narrowed his eyes, "what the hell are you talking about?!"

"You father, Jim! I'm talking about your father," Frank slammed his fist on the dinner table and, with it, silence fell. Jim simply looked at him with disbelief and no words. That wasn't true, right? His father had died in a car accident. Some drunk driver crashed into him. "They made it seem like an accident," the older looked down at his feet, "he used to work with them, with us and things were fine before Kathryn. When she took over, a lot of things changed. She began experimenting on people claiming it was for the greater good. A lot of members didn't agree, including your father," he pulled out a pen and a piece of paper before writing, "she made me do it," he whispered softly. "I did a lot of bad things throughout my life, Jim, but no matter how much I regretted them, how much I wanted to do the right thing, I couldn't. For you and your mother's sake. At first, I told myself I was only doing it in your father's name. I lied to myself because I was too much of a coward to see the truth," he looked up at his nephew who was as pale as a ghost. He handed him a piece of paper, "the truth was that I was never enough of a man to start a family on my own so I just stole his instead. I am truly sorry, kid. I wish I could protect you still, but I know that no matter what I do you'll keep looking and looking, you are his son after all," he took a step closer and brought a hand to James face, "you grew so much, son. He'd be proud of you. I know I am."

"Uncle-" Glass shattered and red entered Jim's vision. His own blood ran cold as his uncle's big eyes became glassy and he fell on him. The ex soldier held his relative as his eyes were drawn to the crimson hole in the back of his head. It didn't bleed for long, but enough so to dye Jim's vision, "n-no. No, no, fuck, no!" Jim shouted desperately and tried to cover the wound with his jacket while shaking the limp man, "uncle Frank, please! You can't- I can't, I-" words became difficult in his state. He had had to deal with a lot of dying men before, they tried to save as many people as they could yet casualties happened sometime, however none of those deaths hurt this much. He looked out the window to see a man wearing a mask similar to the one who had taken Tetch in the opposite building. His gun was the same one Jim would normally use. They were trying to set him up. As that realization hit him he acted on impulse. The man dropped his dead relative and took a good look at him before looking through the glass again only to find the spot where the figure had been empty. "Fuck," he whispered and looked around to make sure he wasn't leaving anything that could link him to the murder before washing his hands quickly. Once he was done he glanced at the dead man one last time, "I'm sorry, uncle Frank, I truly am. You were like a father to me too, I-," he took a deep breath to calm down, "I will find whoever did this, I promise."

As Jim left the building, the future was uncertain. He didn't know what would be happening from now on, his enemies were too powerful and his allies were too few. The only guidances that he had was the piece of paper with an address and a date and a single name to go by, Kathryn. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A few things that I'd like to talk about:
> 
> 1- We needed some more moments with Tetch and Crane to humanize them a bit more, thank you very much. 
> 
> 2-I wish Oswald would have had more interactions with Bruce since they are characters with contrasting ideals but, ultimately, the same goal. 
> 
> 3-Poor Jimmy. Someone is always framing him for murder. Oh well. 
> 
> There was quite a bit of exposition here and I'm sorry if it felt rushed but I'm trying to fit as much as I can within these 15 chapters which is a more difficult task than expected. In retrospect, maybe I should have removed a few things from the earlier chapters but oh well. It's challenging, however I do love to write this. I hope people enjoy reading it just as much 😊


	10. Smile like you mean it

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mr. Sandman by Chordettes
> 
> Mr. Sandman, bring me a dream  
Make him the cutest that I've ever seen  
Give him two lips like roses and clover  
Then tell him that his lonesome nights are over  
Sandman, I'm so alone  
Don't have nobody to call my own  
Please turn on your magic beam  
Mr. Sandman, bring me a dream
> 
> Mr. Sandman, bring me a dream  
Make him the cutest that I've ever seen  
Give him the word that I'm not a rover  
Then tell him that his lonesome nights are over  
Sandman, I'm so alone  
Don't have nobody to call my own  
Please turn on your magic beam  
Mr. Sandman, bring me a dream
> 
> Mr. Sandman (Yes?) bring us a dream  
Give him a pair of eyes with a come-hither gleam  
Give him a lonely heart like Pagliacci  
And lots of wavy hair like Liberace  
Mr Sandman, someone to hold (someone to hold)  
Would be so peachy before we're too old  
So please turn on your magic beam  
Mr Sandman, bring us, please, please, please  
Mr Sandman, bring us a dream

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took a while, didn't it? I'm sorry, things have been difficult as of late. I have had little motivation to write or even draw but I'll try to go back to schedule. I hope y'all think it was worth the wait and happy april's fools
> 
> Kudos and comments are very welcomed

Her mother had always told her as to not bring strays back home, they would only attract more of them, but alas, she never listened. Sometimes she cursed her own stubbornness because now she had to deal with seven mutts and the kid that looked like the gay she kinda liked, "Five, what the hell?!" The girl yelled as she saw all the dogs walk all over and eat the food that was supposed to be her cat's. They trampled the couch, peed on the plants and destroyed several of her clothes. How could anyone like dogs? "I said you could bring ONE dog in to keep you company while I was gone, not an entire pack!"

"Oh, hi Selina! " It was an odd sight to see a smile on Bruce Wayne's lips even if Five was as far from Bruce as blood was from wine, "I know what you said, but I couldn't just separate Ottis from his crew. They all need a home and we have enough space so I thought, why not? They are all pretty big boys too so they can help keep the place safe," he gently patted the back of the large and tall brown dog known as Ottis. 

Ever since she took Five in shenanigans such as this had become a constant. First he wouldn't stop bothering her about wanting to be Bruce which was a terrible idea considering how paranoid the other had been. Then, he had wanted to help Selina take on Fish and the court which was an even more awful plan. Sure, Five was a fast learner and was stronger than your average high schooler but he was too naive and inexperienced. It was would be best if he stayed home collecting animals and ruining her apartment. She couldn't risk letting him become the next Ivy.

"Here," Five said as he brought a chocolate cookie to Selina's mouth. Despite the girl's best glare telling him to fuck off, he was persistent. Dammit. 

"Fine," she took the cookie and took a bite praying it would taste bad when she knew it wouldn't. Why did it have to be so good? "Did you steal this?" The girl asked despite knowing the answer.

"Nope. I saw the recipe in a tv in a store while I was walking the dogs so I asked the restaurant across the street for the ingredients. They agreed to let me have them as long as I washed the dishes for them and roughed up a few kids who had been bothering them," Five said proudly. 

Yes, he was an extremely fast learner. Scarily so, actually. He had learned how to climb the buildings and jump like the street girl did in their first day together by just watching her do it. He also couldn't feel any physical pain. The amber haired female assumed all of this had something to do with the scars on his back. "What about the clothes?" The burglar gestured to the beige sweater, torn jeans and black sneakers he was wearing. She hated how good he looked, specially with his black locks tied in a ponytail. 

"Oh, that? One of the kids I beat up said they'd give me whatever I wanted and since we were the same size," he shrugged. Selina snorted and ate half of the treat in one bite. 

"I can't believe you stole someone's clothes," the girl took a new bite of her cookie.

Five brought one of his hands to his chest, "no, it's not stealing if they gave it to you in their own volition," he said with a smirk. 

The snort turned into a chuckle, "you are the absolute worst, kid." Selina said as she finished the cookie and licked his fingers. 

"What can I say? I learned from the best," his smile grew as he winked at the girl. 

Above all else, Selina hated how her heart would betray her and beat oh so fast and the way her cheeks would redden slightly not to mention how Five would leave her speechless with his stupid little gestures. She hated him so much. 

"Oh, fuck off, Five!" She turned to leave to the kitchen pretending to go get a new cookie, "you know that you shouldn't go out, if they find you, I'm not gonna save your ass twice." The female pushed past another one of the foul creatures known as canines and reached the counter. 

"Yes, you will," Five teased her as he followed after, "and I would do the same thing for you." The girl could actually hear the smile on his voice. 

"Shut up! For your information, I- what?" The young lady turned to face her friend. He no longer had a friendly expression, but rather that of concern. 

"There's someone else here." He announced, serious and soft just before the dogs started to bark. 

Five ran out of the kitchen before Selina could ask what he meant. 

Crash. Whine. Scream. 

Selina made her way to the living room to find all of the dogs and Five hanging from tendril like vines around their legs. The dogs were still while five tried to bite the vine off while growling like an animal. 

Perhaps she'd should be worried or even find the scene funny but the only thing in the girl's face was pure shock, "Ivy?!" 

"Hello, Selina," the girl in a dress greener than her arms spoke and looked at her with narrowed eyes and a high chin. This was the first she felt intimidated by her friend, "your security has always been terrible."

\---

Nostalgia. That was what Oswald felt as he walked inside the sirens. The place wasn't quite open yet, the bartenders were changing while the band smoked their cigarettes outside to get their voices ready. The tables were in their posts and the bottles stood in the spotlight behind the balcony. In a few hours, they would be called and claimed by the youth of Gotham city, like his were what felt like a life time ago. "Are you sure about this? I'm sure there are others we could go for. Barbara is..."

"Perfect," Oswald interrupted Ed, "trust me in this, old friend. I know Barbara. She may seem insane but when it comes to getting what she wants, there's no one better, and quite frankly, who isn't insane nowadays? Just relax. I know her," he said as his hand twisted the doorknob the led into the owner's office, "besides, what's the worst that can- OH FUCK!" 

On the other side of the door, Barbara was sitting on her desk. The woman's face were rosy and her eyes were lazily lidded as Tabitha kneeled between her legs. Her face was being squeezed by the blonde's thighs as her tongue licked her- 

Oswald slammed the door closed. Edward was bright red with an unhinged mouth hanging open, "I-I-" he tried to say but those words died in his throat. 

The kingpin cleaned his throat and licked his lips a few times before speaking with his mouth and hands, "ok, I will admit, that was a miscalculation in my part, I should have called first. Or knocked."

"You think?!" Edward squealed and opened his arms.

"Come in, boys," Barbara said through the door and the two males exchanged a look. His chief of staff clearly wanted to run away and pretend it never happened. That's what a coward would do and Oswald Cobblepot was no coward. 

After a nod, he opened the door once again with a stance just as high and mighty as always even if he didn't feel that way. 

Barbara was seated on her desk still, but no one was between her crossed legs. Tabitha leaned against a wall next to her with a knife in her hands. It seemed very interesting since her eyes stayed on it instead of even glancing on the two males. "Well, well, well, if it isn't Pengy. You really are as hard to kill as they say," Barbara said smoothly with a grin, her blue eyes in his green ones. 

"Yes, and as much of a cookblock. Ever heard of knocking?" The Tigress added. 

Penguin ignored, "indeed, old friend. It's good to see you're fine too, but I'm afraid I'll have to skip trivialities, we need a favor."

Barbara lifted an eyebrow, "oh? Now, that's peachy. What, isn't your little boy toy enough? How disappointing," she mocked causing an already agitated Nygma to step forward.

Oswald put a hand on his chest before he had a chance to speak and shook his head gently. Once he was sure his friend had deflated, he looked at Kean again, "you may see we need a bit of a feminine touch and you're one of my favorite women who are still alive and have never died before."

"Cute, we're not interested," Tabitha interjected. 

Oswald finally looked at her, "sorry, I wasn't talking to the followers, should have known to specify it for those with lesser intellect, my bad."

Tabitha walked towards him with her knife in hands, "that's it, you're dead, Cobblepot!"

"SORRY, OZZY," Barbara interjected just as Oswald pulled a handgun. They both pointed their weapons at each other before looking at the blonde, "but we're not interested. We have no reason to help you and, quite frankly, none of us want to. Turns out you're a bit of a dick," Kean shrugged and pouted mockingly. 

Edward cleaned his throat, "if I may, miss Kean, you need us, you see," it was Barbara's time to pull out two guns from under her desk and pointed it at him, forcing Ed to pull out his new cane. 

"We don't need ANYONE specially two MEN who can't eve protect the ones they love, if we wanted the help you can provide, we'd get a mutt instead. It drools less, so, I recommend that you grab your freakish little boyfriend and get out of my sight, Riddler!" Barbara hissed through her teeth. 

"Wait, Riddler? What the hell is a Riddler?" Oswald asked, glancing at blonde. 

Kean scoffed, "oh, hasn't your pet told you about his horrid nickname?"

"It's not horrid! It imposing and brings fear to the hearts of my enemies while also differentiating me from standard fiends!" 

"Sorry, I will have to go with Barbara in this one, Riddler? Seriously? No one will be afraid of the Riddler, Ed!" Oswald looked back at Tabitha just as she tried to cut his throat, making him jump back. 

"See? Even your boyfriend thinks it's a stupid name, Eddie!" 

"HE IS NOT MY BOYFRIEND!" Edward yelled, irritated as the door swung open and all parties pointed their weapons at it, Galavan even going as far as to throw her knife. It hit the doorframe, barely missing Butch. 

"Uh, guys?" He asked with a mix of confusion and shock. 

"**WHAT**!?" All four yelled at him at the same time. 

"You will want to check the news," Butch was hesitant to speak but turned the tv on. 

**'EX MAYOR AUDREY JAMES FOUND DEAD IN THE DOCKS.**' Above those words was a picture of the ex mayor and his body being retrieved from the river. 

Barbara inhaled, "I don't assume that has anything to do with why you're here."

Oswald's lungs filled with air as he tried to remain calm. They were running out of time. 

\---

Tik. Tok. Tik. Tok. The only thing more annoying than the rhythmic clocks was the noise coming from the children played outside. Jonathan had no idea how Kathryn could maintain a life as the cold ruler of Gotham only to them come home to enjoy a life with her family. How could she smile at them like she hadn't been responsible for the death of dozens and the fall of thousands? Sure, Jonathan was evil, but he had welcomed that darkness, the fear in the hearts of his enemies gave him strength. He was bad and it defined him. The boy couldn't think of anything more nefarious than a being of the dark pretending to walk in the light. 

"I am so disappointed in both of you," the masked woman shook her head slightly like a parent who just discovered that their child had failed a test. "I gave you one, simple test. Kill a man who's already despised by the entire city. You could have chopped him to bits and they'd still believe it was an accident."

Jervis leaned forward from his seat next to the teenager. "If I may-"

"No," Kathryn stopped him by raising her hand, "you two proved unable to handle the situation without supervision. From now on, you will be obeying a new leader." The woman said as a man in a white suit and red tie came in. 

From the way Jervis' tensed up and gnashed his teeth, Crane could tell he was far from happy with the decision. He understood the feeling. The man exhaled arrogance and a desire for power, although Jonathan suspected that was fir the same reason his eyes practically glowed red. Perhaps he hadn't been so bad before the virus. 

"Jervis Tetch, Jonathan Crane, meet your new boss," the woman looked back at him and the man removed his mask. The teenager remembered seeing him in the news, "Mario Falcone."

"It's good to be working with you both, and I'm glad neither of you got too hurt. Murder isn't a task for anyone."

Jervis' eye twitched, "what is THAT is that supposed to mean, man with a grin?" 

"Nothing, nothing, please, don't misunderstand my words," Mario brought a hand to his chest. The amount of charisma coming from him was sickening. No wonder everyone in Gotham was rooting for him to win the elections, not that he had much competition with the likes of Audrey James and, maybe, Oswald Cobblepot. A dog could run against them and probably win. "I am sure both of you are exceptionally capable men, however, I doubt any of you have the mind of a politician like Cobblepot. You need a businessman to to take out another businessman."

"I read that you were a doctor," Jonathan shot. 

"I am, but I learned one thing or two from my father even if taking the family's mantle has never been my main goal until recently," he sat next to Kathryn. 

"Yes," the woman sad and looked at the hatter, "we're very help with your... assistance to help my friend realize his true purpose. Now you get to see your creation in action, mister Tetch."

More like get bossed around by the guy you helped brainwash, Crane thought. He couldn't imagine anything more belittling. "Right," Tetch growled through his teeth. 

Kathryn clapped her hands together. "Then it is decided. You three will be working together to destroy Cobblepot and anyone else with him."

"Yes, ma'am," Mario was the first one to comply like the loyal dog that he was, "yes, ma'am," Tetch begrudgingly agreed and without a choice, Jonathan agreed as well, "yes ma'am."

\---

"Ugh," Jim groaned and brought his hand to his face. His mind was still rebooting and his eyes were still getting used to the light of the room he was in. 

The room he was in... 

He recognized the bedroom he was in. "Woah, there," Lee said as she bent next to the bed after Jim jumped into a sitting position. He was in her apartment, her bedroom. He would have recognized the smell of lilacs and lavender. 

"I thought you had sold it," Jim said softly as he looked at the purple plants by the window. 

"No. I tried to rent it but, for some reason, people didn't stay here for long. They said a creepy guy kept stalking the apartment or something. I suppose I should thank him for that," the doctor said with a smirk. 

Jim rubbed the back of his neck slightly flustered. Maybe he had acted too much like a stalker, "yeah, you should. Maybe keep the creepy part out of it though," he grunted as he tried to move and his head hurt, "why am I here?"

"Bullock asked me to take you somewhere safe where no one would find you," she offered him a few painkillers and a glass of water, "apparently he didn't think it was a good idea to bring guy found where the ex mayor died to the station. Go figure."

Jim took them both after thanking the woman and furrowed his eyebrows, "wait, when you say that the ex mayor is dead-," like a flash, some memories of what had happened returned. "Fuck," he grumbled and brought his hands to his face, a poor decision on his part since that made his shoulders and back ache even more, "I failed. I went there to check on a lead and I found a lot of blood. Alice's blood. I think someone discovered a way to create more somehow and they are bringing a concerning amount into Gotham. I'm not sure what for but it can't be good."

Lee hummed and held her chin between her fingers, "that makes quite a bit of sense. Apparently the blood also acts as an enhancer in those who were being kept in Indian Hill," she probably noticed the confused look in Jim's face which since she continued, "it worsens their condition. In most cases, the victim becomes irrecognisable, like with your squid guy. A few specimens I was testing on even went so far as to get completely new mutations thanks to it. Maybe someone's trying to make an army of monsters, but what would be the point in that if you can't really control them?" 

Jim nodded, "I don't know, but that's not all. Along with all of the blood, I saw mayor James walking into the ship voluntarily. I think he knew about this, maybe too much. I tried to follow, didn't work as expected. There were too many of them, I didn't stand a chance."

"That makes no sense, if they were working with him, why kill him now, just before the election?"

"Maybe they thought he was a threat, maybe they didn't want to risk him winning, which means that one of the other candidates must have been involved." Realization glimmered into both of their eyes just as they spoke at the same time. 

"Mario Falcone." 

"Oswald Cobblepot."

Both adults looked into each other's eyes, confused and almost offended. 

"Excuse me, what?!" Lee was the first one to speak, "you don't seriously believe that Mario had anything to do with this."

"Lee, listen to me. Oswald is as much of a victim here as any of those who escaped Indian Hills."

Lee scoffed, "a victim? Oswald Cobblepot? Jim, are you even listening to yourself?! Since when are you his defender?!"

"Lee, calm down. Oswald couldn't have been the one who attacked me. As eccentric as he is, undead mask wearing ninjas like the ones who attacked me. These people want him dead." 

"All of Gotham wants him dead, Jim! I know how you feel about this and I know you and him have an odd relationship, but there is no way my husband could have been behind this! Mario is a good, honest man and I honestly think you two would get along if you'd just put your stupid jealousy aside for one minute!"

"It's not jealousy, Lee! He's not the fucking man you think he is!" Jim rose his voice.

"Just like you weren't the man I thought you were?!"

Jim stood up. His entire body told him not to but his pride was much stronger. He glared into her dark iris before limping to grab his shirt and jacket. Without a word from either, he put them on and heads to the door. Lee didn't try to stop him. He placed his hand on the doorknob and just as he was about to twist it, he looked at her one more time, "you're right Lee. I wasn't the man you thought I were, but I at least tried to be." He left the apartment. 

Jim knew Oswald wasn't behind this. It would be much easier if he was. Maybe Lee was right, maybe deep down Mario wasn't a horrible man with a desire to destroy the world. Perhaps his intentions were indeed noble. That being said, what was the point of good intentions if you'd be willing to go that far to accomplish them? Maybe he was an idealistic man, but he'd much rather be that than live the lie of thinking he was good while capable of sacrificing the lives of innocents for his goals. What was the point of saving 100 people if 99 had to die for it? No. Jim knew sacrifices had to be made sometimes, but if someone had to suffer that someone would be him, a man fully aware of the consequences who would suffer based on his own choices. Perhaps he did have a hero complex. Maybe he was too much of a martyr, however he'd rather die than give up on what he believed, even if it meant walking in the light alone. 

Just as Jim stepped out of the building, a hood made its way to his head. His hands were pulled behind his back and he was left with little room to struggle specially with his wounds but he tried anyways, "woah, there, relax," Butch spoke through all the thrashing, "we ain't gonna hurt you, Gordon. In fact, this is an invitation of sorts."

Butch dragged Jim somewhere. The detective didn't try as hard to break free, "an invitation where? What the hell does Barbara want with me?"

"Oh, it's not just Barbara," Jim flinched as the hood was removed from his head and he stared at the owner of the voice. Just like the devil summoned by his name, Oswald looked at him with a smile in his lips. "I think it is time all of us do some catching up, wouldn't you agree, old friend?" Sitting next to him was none other than Barbara Kean, with an annoyed looking Edward Nygma driving and a just as pissed Tabitha Galavan by his side. 

Jim looked at the quartet of criminals while the mountain of a man stood behind him. So much for walking in the light. 

\---

Normally Edward found fun riddles and puzzles to be fun but as he watched Oswald talk to Jim he couldn't feel anything other than annoyance. Why did he speak so softly, so tenderly? Sure, he understood his words had to be enticing so Gordon would accept, however, they didn't need to be THIS real. He was supposed to be updating him and convincing to join their cause, not ask him out for a date!

The way Oswald smiled at the other and leaned in closer, how his eyes shined full of... something Edward couldn't quite pinpoint was simply unnecessary. It didn't make any sense, after everything Jim did, from almost getting him killed with Falcone to letting Oswald be thrown in Arkham to, more recently, almost arresting him after he'd comeback from the dead, Oswald still greeted him with an honest grin and a kind greeting. He still considered him his friend. 

_'The real question, Eddie, is why it annoys you so much,' his doppelganger spoke in the mirror. _

What a stupid question, of course it annoyed him! Oswald was supposed to be the king of Gotham, one of the most intelligent and capable men in the city, someone Edward had always admired and yet, he would fall for the farce that was James Gordon. How could a man start from rock bottom and crawl all the way to the top in a matter of months but fall for the charms of that brute? 

_'Perhaps Oswald finds value in Jim's heart. You can't deny that the man, as annoying as he is, has a lot of influence and would be a powerful ally. Trust me, I'm as unhappy as you are but I get why he is doing it.'_

Riddler's words almost calmed him down until Oswald placed a hand on Jim's knee and leaned in to whisper into his ear. Ed had to control himself not to jump back and push the ex mayor away. First the whole ordeal with Barbara dancing with him and then- no, Ed refused to be annoyed by that any longer. 

_'Oh, Eddie,' the reflection chuckled, 'I know you aren't the smartest boy around, but even a dull idiot like you should have figured out by now why it annoys so much. What leads a man to go in a pointless search that could risk everything he has just to maybe find someone believed to be dead? Why did Isabella's actions infuriated you so much? It's all all right in front of you but you just won't see it, or maybe you don't want to see it. Too bad, I'm tired of waiting so, I'm going to show you anyways.' Riddler went from being a mere reflection to being right there, sitting on Oswald's lap. _

Edward clenched his hands around the wheel until the knuckles turned white as his nostrils fumed, "stop that immediately," he whispered so his reflection would be the only one to hear it.

_Riddler ignored Edward and shifted on Oswald's lap so he was the smaller man. He leaned in to press his nose against the olders' neck and slowly rubbed his chest in circular motions, 'hm, he smells so nice,' Riddler purred. _

The specs wearing man felt blood rush to his ear, "I told you to stop!" He hissed a little more loudly, leading Tabitha to shoot him a weirded glance. 

'I wonder what he'd taste like~' Riddler purred as he pressed his tongue against his skin. 

"STOP!" Edward yelled and stopped the car abruptly, causing several screams of confusion and curses to leave the mouth of the passengers as they were thrown forward. 

"THAT'S IT," Tabitha yelled as she opened the door and shoved him out of the driver's seat, "I AM NOT LETTING THIS FREAK DRIVE US INTO DEATH, GET OUT!" She opened the door and sat on his preview spot before Ed could protest, "FUCK YOU, NYGMA, YOU CRAZY LUNATIC!" Yeah, she was probably just as annoyed as he was. 

Wait. 

_Why_ was he as annoyed as she was? I mean, it made sense for her to be annoyed at the way Oswald and Barbara were treating each other and Jim. She was her girlfriend, kind of, their relationship was odd, but Oswald was nothing more than his friend. His best friend. His best friend who he'd do anything for, a best friend who was the only other person in an intellectual similar to his, his best friend whose attention should be aimed at him and him only. His best friend whom he had hallucinated and who he was terrified of losing. _Oh. _

Oswald's hand reached his shoulder as he sat down on his spot, "are you ok?" He could probably sense how not okay Edward was based on how much worry was expressed in his eyes, his green eyes that he had taken a while to get used to but were now as gorgeous as the most expensive emerald.

_Oh no. _

"Yes, I'm ok," that couldn't be further away from the truth. How could he be ok? _Edward was in love with his best friend. _


	11. All will be judged

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cry me a river by Julie London
> 
> Now you say you're lonely  
You cry the whole night thorough  
Well, you can cry me a river, cry me a river  
I cried a river over you  
Now you say you're sorry  
For bein' so untrue  
Well, you can cry me a river, cry me a river  
I cried a river over you  
You drove me, nearly drove me out of my head  
While you never shed a tear  
Remember, I remember all that you said  
Told me love was too plebeian  
Told me you were through with me and  
Now you say you love me  
Well, just to prove you do  
Come on and cry me a river, cry me a river  
I cried a river over you  
I cried a river over you  
I cried a river over you

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to thanks ErinLouise01 for agreeing to be my editor. She is absolutely amazing and a great friend of mine. Love you ❤

Finding Bruce Wayne with Selina had been shocking enough, but seeing him in rags was a complete new type of weird. Bruce Wayne always seemed so high and might and this guy didn't even seem like he knew what a bath was. "What the hell are you doing here?" She asked the long haired boy. 

"I live here! Now your turn!" He yelled at her. His teeth were gritted in anger and he was, once again, as far apart from the stoic and collected boy she knew as possible. 

"No, you live in a mansion full of fancy stuff, and you definitely don't wear THAT."

The boy's eyes widened, "wait, you know where Bruce lives?"

"Uh, yeah?" Ivy immediately regretted answering as that made him thrash even more. 

"You have to take me there right now! Bruce Wayne is in great danger! I have to save him!" 

"What are you talking about? Aren't you supposed to be him?" Ivy tried to tighten her grip and yet he didn't seem phased by it at all. 

"No, he's a clone that I ran into who goes by Five," Selina finally stepped in to clarify. Definitely not the oddest thing she had heard these past few weeks, "Ivy, what happened to you? I have been looking everywhere for you for months!"

"Oh, really? Because from where I stand it looks like you replaced me with fake billionaire boy over here!" She flailed her arms and shook the brunette one more time before dropping him and the dogs. They fell on the floor with a thud. 

"What?!" Selina looked at her with skepticism and took a step forward, "are you fucking serious right now?!" She pointed at Five, "I found him while trying to look for you! You have no idea what I did for you, what I lost to find you!" Whenever Ivy had thought of Selina in the past, she thought of a selfish and smart burglar with the world in her hands. Someone who had the power to do anything that they wanted. The person in front of her was a girl in tears as she yelled and sobbed for a friend she believed to be dead. She couldn't even keep her words from shaking, "I thought I had lost you! Everyone else said it was a pointless search but I couldn't give you up! Specially not when it was my fault! Ivy, I was willing to fight an unwinnable battle in order to avenge you, so don't you DARE for a moment think that I would EVER replace you! That's not fair! It's- it's not-" the girl's shoulder's moved up and down as she sniffed and gritted her teeth. 

Ivy had prepared an entire speech to shove it up the other's face. All of that was put aside as she heard the other's words and without a moment of hesitation, she wrapped her best friend into a tight hug, "you idiot! That could have gotten you killed!" The red haired girl scolded the other as tears dropped down her cheeks. 

"Yeah," Selina held her tightly and chuckled, "I learned from the best."

As the two held each other, the not Bruce Wayne got to his feet and brushed off the dust, "you two seem like you have quite a bit of catch up that needs to be done. I'm going to prepare some hot cocoa for you both and bake some more cookies." He nodded at them before leaving to the kitchen while being followed by the dogs. 

Ivy watched him go before saying, "I thought you were a cats person." The girl smiled slightly. 

Selina pulled away a little to look at where Five had gone too, "yeah, but I have a soft spot for strays of all types," the girl's smirk dropped into a more serious and worried expression, "where have you been?"

Ivy sat on the couch, "it's a long story but the short version is after Fish tried to kill me, I managed to escape somehow and got, well," she lifted one of her arms to show the disgusting green skin, "like this. I didn't really want to be seen and I thought that it would disappear with time so I hid. While I was hiding, I ran into, you won't believe this, the mayor himself though he wasn't quite as terrifying as I heard. I guess it's hard to keep the intimidating facade with a hole in your stomach and a bunch of broken bones. In any case, I saved him and he agreed to let me stay with him! He's really not as bad as people say and he's even kinda cute when he's mad like an oversized chihuahua," they both chuckled, "I helped him try to kill Bruce, don't worry though 'cuz that was a major failure but also a success I guess since it got him to meet his boy toy. Eddie is also an alright guy who knows a lot about plants so we talked a lot. We lived together for a while until Oswald decided to be mayor again. Total bust. Now they are trying to fight off some type of cult full of birds with Bruce? I'm not too sure since I kinda left to try and find you and I finally did."

"Wait, go back a moment, cult of birds? Do you mean the court of owls?" Ivy was a bit offended that was what Selina had taken away from her story. 

"Yeah, something like that, why?" Ivy arched an eyebrow. 

Selina stood up, "fuck! What the hell are they thinking?!"

Ivy reached to take her hand, "Selina, calm down. Whoever those guys are, they are screwed. There is no way they can take on Oswald and Bruce together."

"No, Ivy, you don't get it!" She looked at Ivy, "these people aren't like anything anyone has seen before! Even with all of their power, Penguin and Bruce don't stand a chance," she pulled her hand away, "Five, forget the cocoa! I'm going out and I don't know when I'm coming back."

"Ok!"

"Wait," Ivy stood up, "what are you talking about? Who are these people?"

"I'm sorry, I can't explain now," Selina said as she grabbed her black jacket and slipped on her gloves, "but I promise I will once I'm back. Just stay in here with Five until then and don't do anything stupid, ok? I won't be long," Selina said and rushed to the door. 

"Selina, wait!" Ivy tried to say but it was too late. Her friend was already gone.

\---

Jim was already starting to regret his decision to help. If the likes of Penguin, Riddler, Tigress and Barbara were all that could save Gotham now then the city was screwed, "are you sure this is the place?" He asked and looked over at the blonde woman in a white fur coat and black dress next to him. 

"Of course I do, Jim," she pulled out an envelope with a golden owl imprinted onto it, "they may be exquisite but no one would deny to have a Kean with as much power as I do. No one says no to Barbara Kean."

"I did," Jim said as he looked at her, "I'm not even that picky." 

For a moment Jim thought the woman was about to jump in his throat. He was sure the thought ran through her head as she inhaled sharply, "and I found someone better. Stronger and waaaay better in bed. Sorry to tell you this, Jim, but you are old news."

"I'm happy for you two," he faked a smirk, "though that wasn't what I asked. I asked if you're sure this isn't a trap." He wasn't even entirely sure if this wasn't a trap from the group of misfits he was working with. All of them had a reason to want the ex detective dead and with his hands bound behind his back, there wasn't much he could do to stop them. 

"Ugh, will you relax?" She said as if she could read his mind, "if we wanted you dead your body would have been dumped us in the river, besides, everyone knows I'm not very fond of you or Oswald. I am the perfect candidate for this." And that was exactly what worried him most. 

His ex fiance cocked her hips and knocked on the old door of the old decaying flat they were told to go to. It didn't look like the type of place a super powered organization, rather the place a less fortunate family of Gotham lived in. Indeed, he hadn't expected the court to even know where Narrows was. This was all far too suspicious. 

His worries disappeared somewhat when the door was opened by a man in a owl mask, fancy white suit and a golden tie. His black hair was combed back and Jim couldn't shake off the feeling that he'd seen him before, "greetings, miss Kean, mister Gordon," the man said in a low, cordial timbre. "Please, follow me. Katherine will see you now." He said and his eyes landed on the handcuffs, "ah, fret not. These won't be necessary." He said before freeing Jim's hand without the need of a key. The private investigator and the women exchanged a worried look before making his way in, "here we go," he put the metal ties away and made his way back in. 

As they followed after the mysterious man, Jim couldn't shake off the uneasy feeling he felt. The house looked as if someone had left in a haste. Who lived here? 

"Welcome," the woman greeted with a mask of a smile similar to the one she wore over her face. "Please, do sit down," she gestured to the chairs in front of her. Jim thought twice before sitting down. 

Barbara spoke first, "Katherine, I assume? I heard that you wanted Jim to you in exchange to be allowed in the court. Your meat head friend over there freed him but I-" 

Katherine lifted her hand, "no need to lie, ms. Kean. I know mister Gordon joined us out of his own volition. I also know that ms. Galavan, mr. Nashton and mr. Cobblepot brought you here in order to trick us. Still, we're very glad you decided to join," no longer did the grin seem fake. The woman appeared to be fully enjoying herself as she watched realization and horror cross their complexions. 

Jim had been right. It WAS a trap and he finally realized who the other man was.

He tried to stand up but was forced back down by Mario Falcone, "calm down, Jim! We haven't even had the chance to talk about Lee," he whispered into the dirty blond man's Jim just as a click was heard and his hands were locked against the chair arms and legs by two golden rings at the same time as Barbara's. 

"Let us go!" Barbara demanded as she struggled. 

"I'm sorry, ms. Kean," the woman kept smiling, "your help is an integral part of our plans, specially James' contribution." 

"I WILL NEVER HELP YOU!" Jim yelled and snarled at the older female. It was the man behind him who responded just as the ex detective felt a sting against his neck and a needle attached to a red liquid sunk in. 

"Oh, but you will." 

\---

"It's been thirty minutes," Tabitha complained as her foot tapped the floor, "they are late. I'm coming in." 

Before the woman had a chance to go, the large blond man placed a hand on her shoulder, "hey, Tabby, relax. This is Barbara we are talking about. She can deal with anything life throws at her," he said with large understanding eyes while cupping her cheek. 

The woman gazed into them for a moment before they rolled down and she exhaled, "you are right, you are right. I just can't help it. I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to you or her."

"It's ok, I promise you," Butch pulled her into a reassuring embrace with his chin on her head. "She'll come back without a single broken nail."

Tabitha snickered and looked up at Butch, "that does sound like my Barbara. I'm very glad that you are here," she got on her toes to press her lips against Butch's. 

"OH MY GOD WILL YOU TWO JUST STOP?" Edward yelled as he stopped his pacing. They had stopped the cars a block away from the meeting place and the tall man thought he was going insane. Not only did he have to deal with the realization that he was in love with his best friend but he also had to deal with these two practically eating each other's face and Oswald being annoyingly calm despite the fact HIS life was on the line and these babbling buffoons were their only hope, "seriously, can't you wait to take your clothes off when we aren't here?!" 

Tabitha rolled her eyes, "oh my God, Nygma, will you just relax? It was just a kiss! It's what people in relationships do! Honestly, what the hell has gotten into you?!" 

"Nothing has gotten into me, I just don't appreciate having to watch people inhaling each other's mouth like rabid animals!" Edward answered with tense shoulders.

"Oh, I don't remember hearing you complaining when you got to do the same with your girlfriend!" She poked his chest," what is the problem, Nygma? Jealous that you no longer have a hole to-" 

"Oh my God, will all of you just SHUT UP!" Oswald yelled and got out of the car to scold them all, "you guys don't like us, I wanna kill you," he pointed at Tabitha," and you're a scumbag traitor but we unfortunately don't have much of a choice here so suck it up and learn to stand each other!"

Edward felt small compared to his friend. He couldn't believe Oswald was the one being the most adult in this situation. 

Butch took a step forward, "actually, Oswald, I think this is as good of a situation as any for me to apologize." 

The kingpin looked at his formed friend, "what?"

Butch stopped in front of him, "you are right. You gave me a pretty great job and I lied to you, betrayed your trust and just never believed in you. Sure, I had a good reason not to, I mean, look at you," Oswald pulled his clothes to try and hide himself, "but I was wrong. Everyone was, Fish, Falcone and this court. You might be an asshole and a twerp, but you are a smart asshole and deep down I honestly think that you may care, and maybe, just maybe, one day we could go back to being friends." He put a hand on the ex mayor's shoulder, "for now let's settle with partners." The big lifted a hand. 

Oswald looked down at the digits with hesitation before speaking, "I suppose I should apologize as well. It has come to my attention I may not have been the best friend or boss," he looked back at Ed, "in fact, I believe I was pretty terrible in both of those fronts," he looked back at Butch, "but I'm trying to be a better man now for the sake of the people around me and myself and the first step for that is forgiveness," he shook the bulky man's hand, "so yes, Butch. I'm happy to be partners with you." 

They shook hands and smirked to each other. Ed's eye twitched. _Partners_. Butch wanted to be partners with _his _best friend. Hadn't he learned his lesson yet? No, no. Oswald was right. He had to try and be a better man too, although he couldn't see how forgiveness had anything to do with it. Ed didn't like Butch. There was no forgiveness in that.

Oswald turned to look at Tabitha, "you, however, are still paying for what you did to my mother."

Tabitha grunted, "ugh, are you still on that? You killed my brother, so we are even! Plus, she was old already."

"WHAT?!" Oswald yelled and tried to jump on Tabitha, however Butch held him in place, "HOW DARE YOU SAY THAT ABOUT MY MOTHER YOU PIGLET?!"

Edward laughed at the scene. Now that was his bird. His mood suddenly changed with the sound of rustling coming from under the car. The trio didn't seem to notice and for a moment he wondered if it was just his imagination but there it was again. Teasing him, mocking him. Like the cat killed by his own curiosity, Ed bent down slowly. He didn't want anyone to ask what he was doing, so he checked the group to make sure they were too busy with their argument to care. They were.

Almost there. The sound was growing more frequent but not louder, as if sand was being rolled over the asphalt. No, not sand. Clay. 

The man underneath the car smiled at Edward with a face still only partly formed by the clay coming from the nearest manhole. It was such a shocking sight that he wasn't able to react until someone called his name. 

"Ed?" Oswald asked, anger replaced by worry. The ex chief of mayor took a step back. 

"Oswald?" His voice croaked. 

"Yes?" The small man approached him. 

"RUN!" Edward yelled and threw himself over his best friend as the limousine was flipped into the air and fell back on the other car with a loud **BANG**. 

The mud like creature stood, it retained the shape of a man but its features had been replaced with the brown slickness of clay with a hollow face that could have been drawn by a five years old. 

"WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?!" Tabitha yelled as she pulled out her whip and attempted to strike, leaving a hole that was soon filled up again leaving no evidence it had ever been there in the first place. 

"HELL IF I KNOW!" Oswald yelled back as he stood up as fast as his bad knee would allow and pulled Ed with him. 

"How rude," a Tetch's voice sent a shiver up Edward's spine, "his name is Basil and is quite an excellent actor if you want to know more." The man in green turned to look at the villains that chased them. They appeared from the shadows of the alleyway nearby, both the hatter and the scarecrow, the latter had even received an upgrade in the shape of a scythe. 

Tabitha yelped causing their attention to turn to her as the clay thing's arm stetched to an impossible distance and launched her through the wall of one of the houses nearby. 

"Tabby!" Butch yelled and tried to run towards her only to be stopped by a gigantic humanoid crocodilian creature dropping in front of him. It was easily twice the large man's height of pure muscle and strength. 

"**Hey, piggy**," the monster spoke and revealed all of its triangular teeth in what Edward assumed was a grin, "**hungry? Because I am!" **The creature whipped its tail at the large man, making him fall on his back before attempting to bite his head off. Butch managed to roll out of way just in time. 

"**Keep them busy**," Crane ordered as both him and Tetch began walking closer to Ed and Oswald, "**we have business to finish with these two,"** he swung his blade at the specs wearing male who jumped out of the way but not without pulling his friend along. The plan had been a bust, had Oswald predicted something like this? 

"STOP!" The smaller man yelled as he pulled something over his head. Sometimes Ed wondered if he could read his thoughts. 

Both of their aggressors stopped in their tracks to look at the object. Tetch scoffed, "you wouldn't."

Oswald's grin was close to maniacal as he held the hand grenade above his head, "let's see, I can either let you guys kill us or I can detonate this and kill all four of us in the blast. It's not a matter of if I would, it's a matter of if I'm that petty, and the answer is yes." Sometimes Ed couldn't help wondering how insane his friend was, not that he would use any other word to describe this entire situation. 

Still, he didn't want to die and he didn't want Oswald to die. "Oswald," he put an apprehensive hand on his shoulder. 

"**He is bluffing**," Crane said and stepped forward, "**he wouldn't do anything to harm Riddler." **

Oswald scoffed, "please, wouldn't YOU want to hurt someone who calls themselves Riddler?" 

"OSWALD!" Edward yelled both annoyed and terrified. 

"I have seen your brain tick," Tetch reached inside his jacket, "you wouldn't want to hurt someone you want to f-" 

He pulled the pin. 

Edward expected the world to go black, but it was whiteness. In any case, he couldn't see anything. That didn't stop Ed from being pulled and nearly stumbling over his feet. "What the?!"

"Edward, I REALLY need you to run!" Oswald shouted and pulled him as they tried to escape. A light grenade, clever little asshole.

The tall man threw his head back and laughed, "I hate you sometimes!"

Oswald smirked at him, "no, you don't!" 

"GET THEM!" Tetch shouted as they disappeared out of view. Apparently the two had recovered quite quickly from the grenade. 

"What's the plan?" Ed asked. 

"Improvisation!" Oswald responded. As they turned around the corner, the bay and the river came to view. 

Oswald glanced back and his green eyes widened, "WATCH OUT!" Another shadow Edward couldn't quite make out fell towards them, and while Edward managed to jump away, Oswald ended up being thrown into the water with whatever that was. 

"OSWALD!" Edward's voice was almost a squeal as he looked over the edge to try and find him for no avail. This couldn't be happening. He just got him back. 

"**Are you sure you have time to stop Nygma?"** Crane's scythe scratched Edward in the back causing the man to gasp in pain. "**TO YOUR FEET! COME FACE YOUR FEARS!" **

Edward hissed and stood up, warm blood crawled down his back. If Crane wanted to, he could have killed him there. Luckily his ego stood in the way. He had hoped not to use it yet since it was still a prototype, but he didn't have much of a choice. He pulled out a new golden question mark from the inner pocket of his jacket and opened his new cane. The cable was green and sparked under the dim lighting. He pointed it at the teenager. The forensic scientist would have to hope Oswald would manage to come back on his own, "take off my skin, I won't cry, but you will! What am I?" He said through his teeth.

"**Finally**," Scarecrow tried to cut Edward again, the taller managed to block with his his cane and kicked John in the knee. 

"The answer is an onion," a blade appeared at the end of its cane. It was aimed at the boy's throat. John grabbed the cable and pulled it so he could headbutt Ed on the nose. The man yelped and stumbled back, letting go of the weapon to hold on to his bloodied part. 

Scarecrow grinned under his cloak and slashed at Edward. He didn't manage to escape this time. The blade ripped through his scarf, cutting flesh and muscle all together. The wounded man cried out in pain as his leg burned and a pool of blood formed underneath it. 

The cloaked male pressed the blade against his neck, "**now, tell me, why won't the toxin affect you, Nygma?"**

Edward groaned and heaved as he tried not to scream again. It was hard to see with the tears in his eyes, "w-who knows? I suppose you could say I am a riddle hah- ack!" 

Jonathan stepped on his chest, "**ANSWER, YOU FILTH!" **

"IT'S MY GENES!" Edward cried once again and panted a few times, "I'm resistant to m-most toxins and substances! It's the only semi good thing my father gave to me," he coughed. 

"**How fascinating. I suppose I will have to keep you around, you will be useful for the research of my father."**

Edward tried to laugh sarcastically but it came out as more of a whine,"is that why you are doing this?! To continue the research of the monster that tortured you and brought you so much pain?! Why?!" He deserved what it got. He was disgusting filth, like another father he knew

"**Don't you dare misunderstand my father's action or compare him to you shitty predecessor! He loved me and all that he did was a show of that love! He was going to change the world forever! Your father was a fat drunk that couldn't even change his underwear! We are not the same, Nygma!" **

The fallen took a deep breath, "ok, fine, but I have a question for you before you take me," Ed's teeth were gritted and his heart pounded in his ears. He had one chance.

Scarecrow narrowed his eyes, **"what is it?"**

Edward sprayed Scarecrow in the face with the small aerosol can he kept in his pocket, "WHAT ARE YOU SCARED OF?" 

\---

Oswald had been thrown into that same cold unforgiving river before and he definitely hadn't missed the experience, but alas, there he was, sinking into the river and nearly dying. The monster pulling him deeper was new, however. It was difficult to get a good look at the creature, the water was far too turvy and the bubbles coming from his movements didn't help. He did, however, managed to catch sight of two red round objects he assumed were the beasts eyes and attacked the nearest one with the only knife he had on him. The creature let out a high pitched noise like the cry of a whale and released the man. With the air in his lungs he had left, the Penguin managed to burst through the surface and pant while trying to look around. He was far away from the shore or any place he could use to escape the water. He didn't think things could get much worse.

He felt a wave from the liquid as it ruptured once more to reveal his captor. The monstrosity was humanoid in shape but far larger than any man could ever dream of being. Its skin was completely smooth and slippery, a mixture of black and white with a fin on the back. The two white spots in its face could appear to be eyes if it wasn't for the red areas, one of which was now bleeding, that he had spotted before. Whatever this thing was, it looked like the unholy child of a man and a killer whale, with the addition of breasts and no tail. The monster wiped the blood from its eyes and brought it to the gigantic mouth full of pointy teeth, "**I'm not one for interacting with my food,**" the monster said in a low voice close to a growl, "**but you've earned my respect, Penguin," **she smiled as she spoke that last word and Oswald felt even more terrified, if that was even possible. 

"T-thank you, y-your words are very k-kind, but I should get back to my friend now," he couldn't stop himself from trembling, though the kingpin told himself it was because of the cold. He turned around and tried to swim away only to be stopped by a hand with only three fingers around his ankle pulling him back. 

It laughed, "**no, no, no, I don't think you comprehend, my friend. You may be good but I'm still eating you. This wound stings but it it will heal. I wouldn't let something so trivial as this ruin such a perfect meal." **

Oswald yelped as he was pulled out of the water from him bad leg. He felt as if his patella was going to give in, "gah! What the hell are you talking about?! I'm not fucking food, you idiot!"

**"Oh, you say that, and yet, you are the Penguin. I'm Orca. You don't need a PHD in marine biology to know what Orcas eat, sir." **She chuckled and opened her mouth wide. Oswald had no choice but to stare into the back of its throat and pink tongue. 

"I'M NOT AN ACTUAL PENGUIN!" He shouted and tried to stop his descent by holding on to the creature's lips, "I WAS GIVEN THAT NICKNAME, OK?! I DON'T EVEN LIKE IT FOR GOD'S SAKE! STOP THIS!" 

He felt as the tongue brushed against his hand and stopped himself from recoiling, "**I DON'T KNOW, YOU TASTE LIKE CHICKEN FOR ME!" **Out of all the ways Oswald thought he would die, this was by far the most humiliating. He desperately tried to find something to help him out, his knife would scratch her and she seemed to be enjoying the fact he squirmed to get away while inside her mouth. He demanded, threatened, negotiated and even begged. Nothing. The beast seemed set on eating him. Just as the ex mayor began losing all hope, he was spit out of the thing's mouth and tossed away. 

"**GET AWAY FROM MY PREY!" **A lower even grufier voice demanded. Oswald coughed and struggled to find stability over the water again to watch the scene. The voice seemed to belong to the scaly man from before.

Orca touched her own face and scoffed, her red orbs burned with fury, "**YOUR prey?! Are you stupid?! You know what, don't answer that. Here's a little lesson in biology, lizard boy, killer whales eat penguin, not crocodiles!" **

**"Gotham is MY city," **the scaly creature pressed his thumb against his chest, "**so, all humans in it are MY prey! Plus, you're the stupid, he ain't a real bird, idiot!" **

**"I KNOW that, you moron! Besides, weren't you dealing with the fat one?! This one is mine!" **

**"They are both mine, they are ALL mine!" **

**"Then maybe you'd like to have to deal with the owl lady? I'm sure she'd love to send you back to Arkham again."**

Croc growled through gritted teeth and a clenched fist but didn't reply. Orca grinned victorious, "**that is what I thought," **she got ready to swim after Oswald who was trying to get away quietly. 

If she was as fast as a killer whale, there was no way he'd be able to out speed her inside the water. Time to think quick, "y- yeah! This is for the best anyways, I mean, if I'm g-going to get eaten I'd rather get eaten by the strongest one."

"**WHAT?!" **Croc roared, "**NO ONE IS STRONGER THAN KILLER CROC!" **The reptilian uppercut the mammal and her attention turned to him. She let out a battle cry and tackled him into the water. 

Oswald didn't bother waiting to watch. He began swimming away as fast as the bone shattering water and his poor knee would allow. He couldn't help but chuckle with his mouth shut. Apparently even monsters were victim of their own pride and toxic masculinity. He had met too many others like this croc guy and they were always the same. Based on that, he couldn't help rooting for Orca to win. 

Once he was far enough, he dared to slow down to catch his breath and glance over his shoulder to see how their battle was going. 

He immediately wished that he hadn't done that. 

The beasts were still entangled together, not fighting but doing something else. Something much worse. The sight was so revolting and disgusting he almost wished Orca had ended his suffering a few moments prior. 

**"Oh, c'mere," **Croc groaned as he pulled the other hybrid into an ardent kiss as his hands trailed lower on her body. 

"YOU'VE GOTTA BE KIDDING ME!" Oswald yelled into the sky and went back to swimming. WHY WERE ASSHOLE LIZARDS GETTING LAID AND HE COULDN'T EVEN GET A FUCKING DATE?! Maybe he was fighting in the wrong side. He wondered if it was too late to get infected by Tetch's blood. 

Oswald managed to reach and climb up the shore before laying down with his back against the concrete. He panted and stared at the grey sky as he rested for a few moments. The man was beyond tired and yet, he couldn't stop. He wasn't going to be defeat here. Yes, the kingpin had fallen but he would rise up again and take over Gotham like he'd done before. 

Oswald's plans changed with a scream. 

As rapidly as he heard it, the brunette scurried to his feet and limped towards the sound. He recognized that voice, if he didn't the Penguin wouldn't be so stupid to run towards what was danger. He couldn't walk away from Edward's scream. 

He went back to see Edward in a pool of his own blood with Jonathan Crane screaming while curled up as a ball in the corner. He looked between John and Ed before kneeling next to his half conscious best friend, "Ed, ED!" He yelled and gently slapped the man. 

Edward groaned and hissed when he tried to move his torn leg. "Fuck," he mumbled. Ed never cursed. 

"Edward, what the hell happened?! Did Crane do this to you?!" Although the cold could be partially blamed for it, it was anxiety and panic the main factors that made Oswald shake like a leaf. As he spoke, he wrapped his best friend's leg in his coat to try and stop the bleeding. 

"You're wet," was the first thing Ed noticed, "Crane and I had a bit of," he paused and looked at the boy, "a scuffle. It's fine now. You're here."

"Yes, yes I am, and I'm going to get you in an ambulance! You need a doctor as soon as possible" Oswald said as he reached in his pockets to pull out his phone only to find out the damn thing wasn't working anymore because of the water. He groaned in frustration and slammed it against the wall, "DAMMIT!" He yelled and looked at Ed. His eyes weren't on him but in a spot behind the ex mayor. He followed his eyes with his own. 

In the thick fog commonly found in Gotham was a dark shadow in the shape of a human. A shape that was approaching him. 

Oswald's shoulder's slumped. He had just managed to get away from two aberrations, what now? Worse yet, there was no way Edward could run away from this with his leg like that. He only had two choices. He could run away and leave Edward behind or sacrifice himself so that they would leave Edward alone. 

"Oswald?" Ed's voice was raspy and weak. The smaller male turned to face his friend once again. 

That was right, wasn't it? Love was about sacrifice. He had forgotten how cruel and unforgiving that was.

In the end, someone always had to say goodbye. 

"Y-you are going to be ok, Ed, I promise," he forced a smile. Good thing that the water of the river blended well with tears. "You still have your phone, just call an ambulance and stay awake for as long as you can, ok?" 

Edward looked at the shape and then at Oswald again. He seemed more aware, "Oswald, what are you doing?"

"I think we both know the answer to that question, old friend," he sniffed and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. He tried to stand up, being stopped by shaky fingers around his wrist. 

"Don't do this, please," Edward's breath hitched as he looked at him with despair in his eyes. 

"You once told me that I was incapable of loving," he pressed a kiss to Ed's knuckles, "I wanted to prove you wrong. The one thing you were incorrect about. I just wish I could have shown you that in a different way." 

Ed shook his head, "no, no, stop! Please! Oswald, you can't do this to me! I need you!" The creature was close enough for him to make out it wasn't human. It's features were mixed with that of a toad. 

"You don't," he pulled his wrist, "you were doing fine on your own," the standing male pressed a kiss to the other's forehead, "you can go back to Isabella now. You're free." 

"No!" Edward sobbed. He was holding on to Oswald, "no, I can't! I never loved her, Oswald, I love you! You and only you! I'm sorry that I can only see that now, I-I was stupid, blind but please, please, don't leave me!" 

The kingpin blinked, "you- you do?" The ex mayor chuckled sadly, "how horribly cruel." He kissed Ed. It was only a tender press of lips that lasted just a second. For Oswald, that meant the world. 

The man used Ed's surprise as his chance to get away from the other's grasp. "NO!" Edward yelled, "no, don't do this! I can't accept this!" He tried to crawl after him only to yelp and fall back on the floor. Like Oswald predicted, with that leg, he wasn't going anywhere. 

A part of him wanted to turn around and just let them both die. His logical side was telling him to run and escape. None of that mattered. His mind was made up and he was at peace. Edward loved him and, for once, he wouldn't let a loved one die in his arms. The Penguin faced death in and greeted it with open arms and eyes glowing with determination. 

The toad man opened its mouth to reveal its long tongue. 

The last thing he heard before everything went dark was a cry of his name in the distance. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry.


	12. Pretty hate machine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> End of the world by Sketer Davis
> 
> Why does the sun go on shining?  
Why does the sea rush to shore?  
Don't they know it's the end of the world?  
'Cause you don't love me anymore  
Why do the birds go on singing?  
Why do the stars glow above?  
Don't they know it's the end of the world?  
It ended when I lost your love  
I wake up in the morning and I wonder  
Why everything's the same as it was  
I can't understand, no, I can't understand  
How life goes on the way it does  
Why does my heart go on beating?  
Why do these eyes of mine cry?  
Don't they know it's the end of the world?  
It ended when you said goodbye  
Why does my heart go on beating?  
Why do these eyes of mine cry?  
Don't they know it's the end of the world?  
It ended when you said goodbye

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We start this with a flashback and then things get interesting :)

"Alright, alright," Barbara said as she leaned closer to the bird like man and tried not to spill her own drink, "I get why you are doing all of this, the Waynes, the Owls even the infected blood," the woman took a sip of her cocktail, "but why the fuck is he still with you?" She groaned and pointed at Ed with her chin. The man in grin was too busy trying to avoid looking at Tabitha and Butch making out right next to him. His left hand was working as a barrier of sorts to protect his eyes from the disgusting sight though his ears were left unattended. To make it all the more hilarious, he was trapped in place by the crowd of young sweaty people dancing in her nightclub. Needless to say, the shy nerd pretending to be a hot shot was far from pleased. 

Oswald didn't seem to see him like that though, "why wouldn't I? He is extremely intelligent, creative and capable. Anyone would like to work with him." 

Barbara scoffed, "his girlfriend also nearly got you killed and he didn't do anything besides sit and watch! I know you are head over hills over him for SOME reason that goes beyond me, but considering his track record, he isn't any casanova nor employee of the month! Seriously, how can you want to be with him considering how both of his ex's turned out."

Oswald finally lost the dopey look he had gained while watching Ed and faced Barbara once more, "what do you mean? Isabelle was the one who left him." 

Barbara couldn't believe her ears, "you are joking, right? Hasn't he told you what happened to her?"

Oswald lowered his face, "no. He hasn't, but I suppose I can guess. I'm sure he has a good reason for lying." 

"Yeah! Because he doesn't want you to throw him back in Arkham where he fucking belongs! Oswald, I know I'm not one to talk but you shouldn't pursuit an unrequited love! It won't end well for either of you!"

"It's not unrequited!" He snapped at her, "he loves me, Barbara! I know he does, I know what love looks like, he looks at me like I'm special, he is caring and kind when no one else would be and the way he smiles at me when I do anything he deems right..." he didn't finish that train of thought and quickly replaced the small smirk that had formed in his lips with a stern, cold look in his green eyes, "but you are right. You are not to talk specially when your girlfriend is exchanging spit with the closest thing to an ogre Gotham has to offer!"

Barbara exhaled and threw her head back, "you're right."

Oswald blinked, "what?"

"You are right. Despite our appearances, Tabby and I aren't in the best place right now. When I let Butch stay with us, I only did it to see her happy, to prove I was not jealous. Then they started having sex and I still let them, I mean, it is not like either of us are monogamous, you know? We see other people all the time because we both know that what we have goes way beyond a few nightstands. I love her and I didn't want to make the same mistakes I made with Jim," she clenched her fists as sorrow was replaced by rage, "but that idiot just had to stay in our way, with calm, reassuring words to melt his way into her heart, and the worst part is that she falls for it! He's stealing her from me, Oswald, and I'm not sure how to get her back without looking a jealous bitch."

The kingpin listened in to what she had to say and Barbara could almost swear there was genuine pity in his eyes. Now that would have been a funny joke, "to be fair," he said after a while, "you are a jealous bitch and I'm pretty sure that's no secret to anyone." 

Barbara chuckled sadly and closed her eyes before she began crying and ruined her make up, "oh, ossie. We are such fools. If only I was into short narcissistic men with mommy issues and you weren't gay."

Oswald rolled his eyes, "of course you just had to jab at me. And even if I weren't, you'd still be way put of my type."

"And out of your league."

"How could I ever forget how annoying you were?" It was Oswald's turn to sigh. 

"I doubt you did, sweetheart. You just have a masochist side to you that keeps wanting more," she turned to look at her girlfriend who was now too busy slow dancing with the giant man to even glance at her, "you know, I betcha that deep down they are jealous bitches too." 

Oswald lifted an eyebrow, "what do you mean?" 

"Do you trust me, Ossie?" 

"Not really." 

"Good," the woman purred before slamming her drunk lips against the brunette. Oswald tried to pull away almost immediately, not that she let him to with her hand on the back of his head forcing him to stay in place. He struggled against her for a bit longer before he finally stopped. She smiled widely, he had finally realized. 

Barbara could see Tabby breaking away from Butch as soon as she noticed them, shoving the crowd away so she could get to her girlfriend while Ed froze in place. His jaw had dropped and if a glare could kill, she was sure she'd be dead. Maybe Oswald was right, maybe he did have feelings for her. 

It didn't take long for the blonde woman to be pulled away to her feet and the out of practice mouth of the bird to be replaced by her girlfriend's who displayed fierce and possessiveness. The woman couldn't help but moan as she was pinned against the wall. The ex mayor took the lead to leave the two aloe and join his love interest, likely to let him know that Barbara was in. And boy, was she in. 

\---

The door of the Sirens slammed open and Tabitha Galavan limped inside the Sirens. On her way to the office where the first kit was, she didn't have much of a choice but to stop to catch her breath. Luckily they kept a statue down the hall that had the perfect base for the woman to use as a seat. With a sigh, she sat down and opened her vest to take a good look at the wound in her abdomen. It didn't seem like it was too deep, just a cut that went from the navel to under her left breast. It would definitely leave a scar. The woman took a deep breath before deciding to diverge her attention to the statue. It displayed a female version of the archangel michael battling a snake in the garden of Eden. At the time when they chose to buy it, they only did it because the angel was completely on the nude save for a thin layer of cloth over her more intimate parts, and even then you could still see the amount of detail put into the work depending on the position you were in. 

Now, however, it looked like a mockery. The angel might as well be looking down upon at brunette as it valiantly battled the devil himself while she had ran away from her fight with her tail between her legs. Tabitha had abandoned both Butch and Barbara and all that she could now was pray that they came out of there alright. She simply couldn't defeat him. Her entire fight the tigress hadn't managed to do any damage to the mud like creature. All of her hits were completely absorbed by monster. Maybe she should have accepted her defeat and allowed her opponent to take her head. Maybe Galavan should have tried better to find an alternative way to defeat it. Maybe the defendant of the Dumas should have chosen to fall with honor and her weapon in hands despite the odds. Maybe. Maybe. Maybe. So many maybes, none of which mattered. She had chosen to run away and now she would be paying the price for it. 

The woman jumped as she heard another footsteps down the corridor. She immediately got to her feet despite the sharp pain that coursed through all of her body. Boy, she had taken a beating and a half alright, "who is there?!" She shouted as the club owner pulled out a whip. Luckily it hadn't been lost during the ordeal, "I'm warning you, I'm armed and I can definitely rip your head off with one swing!" She growled like an injured animal. 

"Calm down, kitty," Barbara's voice echoed just as her face appeared from the darkness down the hallway. She looked fine. In fact, she didn't have a single scratch on her. 

The brunette dropped her weapon and limped towards her girlfriend as fast as her flesh would allow before pulling her into a tight hug, "you have no idea how happy I am to see you," she chuckled and a pair of arms wrapped around her. 

"I'm glad to see you too, kitty," the blonde woman kissed her cheek, "I got worried when I came back and saw what was left of a mini warzone."

Tabby shook her head while stroking her girlfriend's hair. She had been so scared for her safe, "there were monsters everywhere and I barely managed to get out alive," she gritted her teeth, "I abandoned you and Butch. I'm so sorry, Barbara!" She sniffed.

Barbara pulled away to took at the taller female and cup her cheek, "hey, hey, it's ok. It wasn't your fault, I'm sure that you did all that you could, kitty. It's one thing to be brave but it is also important to know when to retreat," she pecked her lips and Tabitha relaxed, "we are going to be together forever," the way the blonde whispered that sent shivers down Tabitha's spine and not the good type. The brunette swallowed and took a good look at her girlfriend. Only then did she notice the extravagant silky white dress completed with a veil. 

"What is with the outfit?" She asked warily. 

"Oh, this?" Barbara spun and laughed, "just an old thing I thought we could use after you are all patched up. Spoiler warning, I'm wearing nothing underneath." The woman bit her lower lip and winked. 

Tabitha took a step back, "I'm not really in the mood, not with Butch still out there."

Barbara cocked her head to the side, "what are you talking about, silly? Butch is right here! I obviously dragged that caveman along, and let me tell ya, it wasn't an easy task."

Tabitha's eyes shined once again, "wait, what?! Where is he?!"

Barbara went silent for a moment as her head lowered. It was as if a shadow had fallen over the woman's eyes, "you still care about him that much, huh?" She whispered bitterly. The glee from before was completely gone. The blonde woman lifted her head to look at Tabitha, "I don't like Butch. I think that he's an idiot who still sucks up to Fish Mooney. He can't think for himself and he's always blaming others for his mistake. More so, I really don't like what your relationship with him has become," she took a step forward and the Tigress felt the need to take one back. "I'm YOUR girlfriend, not him, and yet, as of late, you only seem to talk to him about whatever is troubling you while you only use me for the hot sex which, granted, I'm not complaining, but I don't want to be your fuck-buddy, Tabby. I want something meaningful and I think that after everything I've been through with Jim, the Ogre and your brother I kinda deserve it."

"Barbara, where is Butch?" Tabitha couldn't take anymore steps back. 

The blonde woman inhaled with her eyes closed, "tell me, Tabby, do you think that even the worst person can change? That anyone could be good if they just tried hard enough? Do you think I can still be good?" She looked at the brunette, "I wanted you, or anyone for that matter, to say yes SO badly. Sure, I know I could never be as god as Saint James Gordon, but I thought I could be good for one person. Just one. Maybe there was a part of me that was still good. A girl who wasn't ruined by her parents or her boyfriends. Someone you could be proud of," the woman snickered sadly, "I really thought that was the case. I'm not so sure anymore though."

"BARBARA! WHERE IS-" 

"Right there," Barbara said and pointed at one of the VIP rooms close to where they were, "I placed him there when we arrived." She shrugged. 

Tabitha looked between her girlfriend and the door a few times before limping towards it slowly. It opened up easily with a long creaking noise. 

"I don't think I can make anyone happy, and to be quite frank, I'm kinda tired of trying, so I have a new strategy," Tabitha flipped the switch on, "I will make people extremely unhappy unless they do what I want them to do." Tabitha brought both of her hands to her mouth as her eyes caught sight of Butch, or rather what was left of him. There were bite marks all over his arms and legs, none of which were quite as worrisome as the large gash in his neck. It went from one end to the other, a thin and deep line surrounded by yellow-brown dried blood created not by claws or teeth but rather a blade. An arm snaked around Tabitha's waist and pulled her close," genius, isn't it?" Those soft red lips whispered into her ear followed by nips to her lobe. 

Tabitha immediately pulled away and turned to look at the blonde with tears in her eyes, "WHAT DID YOU DO?! GET AWAY FROM ME!" 

Barbara growled like a beast as her eyes turned red and black veins surrounded them, "I did what I should have done when you first rescued him from Penguin! You knew that THIS was how it was going to end, sweetheart! It's the problem with love triangles, is it not? In the end, SOMEONE has to get hurt and I have decided that this time it won't be me!" 

The infected one pulled Tabitha by the wrist and pinned her against the wall with a strength she didn't have. The blonde then slammed her lips against her girlfriend's and abused them fiercely. 

Tabitha tried to push her away for no avail which meant more drastic measures were necessary. Without a moment of hesitation, the Tigress headbutted the woman, forcing her to stumble back, "I said GET AWAY FROM ME!" using her good foot as support, the athletic female kicked her attacker in the chest with as much strength as her bad leg could muster. 

As it turned out, that was still a lot. Perhaps too much. 

_ **Stab. ** _

Tabitha was dazed for a moment as she panted and tried to recover from the pain when an odd noise reached her ears, a choked noise. The woman moved her head to where her girlfriend had landed and her heart broke for the third time that day. 

Barbara had fallen against the statue with the elongated blade perforating her chest right in the middle where her heart was. Crimson blood spilled from her lips, the wound and the tip of the sword as the infected female struggled to breathe or get away turning her white dress into a messy red. "NO!" Tabitha cried and scurried to her girlfriend's side, tears mixed up with the blood from both sides. "No, no, no! I didn't want to do that, Barbara, I'm sorry, I'm so s-sorry," her voice cracked as she managed to pull the woman from the weapon and laid her down, "please, I didn't mean to! I never wanted to hurt you! Please!" She sobbed and held her girlfriend's hand while pointlessly trying to stop the bleeding. "I love you!" 

Barbara watched her with half lidded blue eyes that grew smaller and smaller. Her body continued to drown in her own blood a few more times. Through all the instinctive jerking and her own tears, Tabby could almost swear she saw her girlfriend's lips curl into a faint smirk just before her head lulled to the side and her hand lost its grip. 

Tabitha was left by the feet of the angel to cry and mourn over her dead lovers. 

\---

Mac and cheese, it had been a while since Lee had had enough time to cook for herself. Between her job, her personal research with the virus and helping her husband with politics, the doctor hardly had any time to do the things she enjoyed, eat the things she liked and just relax. Today would be an exception. Bullock had forced her to take the day off and Mario was too busy with an interview to pay her any mind, which meant that she would be spending the day all alone. She planned on getting back to her research after lunch, but until then the woman would just enjoy one of her favorite meals while watching her husband ramble about politics, this time through the tv. 

She took the pan and sat on the couch to eat as she continued to watch. 

"Sir," one of the reporters stepped forward. Lee recognized her for being the girl Jim was having a fling with, she was cute but nothing special. Definitely too short. Mario pointed at her as to let her continue to speak, "do you have any statements regarding the increased number of attacks by Indian Hills inmates in the past few weeks?" 

Mario poked the inside of his cheek with tongue, "I do. See, my sources have led me to believe that these are, in fact, organized attacks by a woman who goes by Fish Mooney. She was too an inmate in Arkham and after some alterations to her body by the former doctor Hugo Strange, she may have gained the ability to influence one's psyche."

"Mind control," the reporter added. 

"Yes. Using her power, she has been collecting other inmates and using them to attack Wayne laboratories for the course of nearly a year now, it was only a matter of time until she began attacking civilians. Of course, I also have come up with a way to deal them using the expertise of someone who has taken them all down once before," Mario looked away from the camera with a smile. "Jim, could you please come here?" 

Lee nearly choked on her food. Between coughs and tears, she watched as her former fiance made his way up the stage to shake her husbands hand with a smile that was so not like Jim that it hurt. He took the microphone and started to speak, "I know you are afraid, I know that you're all scared. I once made a promise to protect this city no matter what the cost was and until now that meant staying away from the GCPD ruled by corrupted men like Galavan and Penguin, but not anymore," she smiled at the mayor, "with doctor Falcone as our Mayor I can finally go back to my old post to start making a difference, we can finally put Gotham in the right track once more, which is why I'm proud to announce I will be the one leading the investigation and hunt to Fish Mooney and I promise that I will bring her, her monsters and anyone who may be working with them to justice. We will make this city better!" A thunder of claps erupted through the crowd. 

Her bubble burst. She had to find Bruce Wayne.

\---

It hurt. The light was always the first thing that came whenever he came back from unconsciousness and it always hurt like hell to get his eyes to open. Eventually, they did. Truth be told, Oswald didn't expect to wake up ever again. He had thought that was the end of the line for him and yet, there he was staring at a fan almost as dirty as the ceiling. 

He tried to sit up only to hear a familiar voice, "careful now, you got really hurt." He groaned and straightened his back before turning to look at Edward who had just passed through the door. He didn't expect to see him there, he had hoped Ed would have managed to escape but apparently his sacrifice had been for nothing. 

"How are you feeling?" Ed asked and walked towards him slowly. 

Oswald rubbed his temple, "like a truck hit me and I didn't get its plaque. Where are we?" He asked and looked around. 

"Safe, for now," Ed approached him still. He was just a few feet away, "I'm not gonna lie, I really thought I was going to die back there," he chuckled. 

Oswald relaxed and leaned back, "yeah, me too," he whispered while looking at the floor for a moment, "listen, about what you said back then-" 

'"Shhh," Edward said softly and pressed a finger to Oswald's lips, "don't worry about it anymore. It's ok. I'm here now, we are here now." 

Oswald felt his heart beat faster as Ed pressed a thumb against his lower lip and tilted his head upwards before leaning in. 

The kingpin could hear the drumming in his ears and hardly anything else, but something didn't feel right. Something about Ed felt off, "Ed," he whispered and the other man tried to shush him away and deepen the kiss. A part of Oswald was telling him to just shut up and enjoy it. God knew he wanted to listen to that part, and yet, he pulled away to look Edward in the eyes. He didn't know for how long he'd been knocked out, but he was pretty sure the other should, at the very least, have a limp, "Ed, what is worthless to one and priceless to two?" 

Edward blinked, "uh, sorry, what? What does that mean?"

Oswald tried to back up against the wall. This was not Edward. He tried to reach for his knife, which was still there surprisingly enough, "the answer is love," he hissed before stabbing the man right in the chest, "and Ed would have answered that without hesitation."

The doppelganger gasped and looked down at his chest where the blade was slammed in. He wore shock in his face and, for a moment, Oswald thought this was an easy victory. He should have known better. 

Instead of blood, a brown, slick substance dripped from the wound. Oswald recognized it as being clay. "Oh no," the Penguin whispered. 

"Oh, yes~," fake Edward purred. As he smiled, his arm transformed into a clay amalgamation before slamming Oswald's head against the wall. The brunette gasped, and, as he did, clay was shoved into his mouth and throat. He kicked and struggled as he desperately tried to escape. All of his movements were easily absorbed by the soft substance going down his throat, "thanks for your review, I will work on making my performance better into the future after you are dead." 

"I don't think so," a hand pressed against the creatures back, "sleep," the voice commanded sternly and, just like that, the creature fell to the ground into a brown poodle. 

Oswald coughed and hacked with tears in his eyes and a hand on his throat. He was so absolutely done with choking. Once he had caught his breath, the man opened one eye to look at his savior, "Fish?" His voice cracked. 

The stern woman looked down at him with disappointment before slapping her once umbrella boy across the face. Her nails were sharp and left a scratch mark on the Penguin's face, "what the hell was that, Oswald?" 

Oswald gently wiped the blood from his cheek and dropped his head like a child being scolded by his parent. "I don't know what you're talking about." 

"Yes, you do boy! When I heard the rumors that the Penguin had gone soft, I refused to believe them. Not my Oswald, I thought. But seeing you be so easily deceived by a pretty face leads me to believe they were all true. You, who I once believed to be my greatest creation, my sharpest weapon, the man who crawled to the top of the world despite all the odds tricked oh so easily by something as ridiculous as love. Didn't I teach you that love isn't real? It is a tool, Oswald. Like your looks or your ingenuity. You make people fall in love with you, not the other way around."

Oswald looked at her, "no, Fish, you don't understand, Ed is different! He has seen the real me and he isn't appalled by it! He understands me and he has been helping me- ack!" The woman sunk her nails into the man's cheeks as she grabbed his chin. Her eyes were cold and ruthless. 

"Helped you? Please. Tell me, how many times have you almost died ever since your little affair started? How many times were you successful in accomplishing ANYTHING? Because, from where I stand you have reached rock-bottom and hasn't climbed up a single step up. So tell me, how has he helped you so far?" 

Oswald didn't respond. He simply bit his lower lip. 

"I thought so," Fish let go and took a step back, "from now on, you'll be the one receiving orders from your mama once again, boy, and together we will climb to the top. No more distractions, I have a plan and we will fulfill it."

Oswald looked up at her, "but... what about Edward?" 

The woman rolled her eyes. "He is fine. My dear Selina has him and she said she was bringing him to the billionaire boy along with a couple of her friends. He should be safe, but you are not seeing him unless I allow you to," Oswald opened his mouth as if to argue but was interrupted by Fish slamming the wall behind him, "ARE WE UNDERSTOOD?!" She asked more harshly. 

Oswald swallowed and nodded. Suddenly he felt as if he was just an umbrella boy once again, "yes, Miss Mooney." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fs in the comments for Barbara and Butch. If anyone wants to start a death count, now's the time. Things are about to get interesting ;)
> 
> Kudos and comments are appreciated.


	13. Destiny Calling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Devil in disguise by Elvis Presley
> 
> You look like an angel  
Walk like an angel  
Talk like an angel  
But I got wise  
You're the devil in disguise  
Oh yes you are  
The devil in disguise  
You fooled me with your kisses  
You cheated and you schemed  
Heaven knows how you lied to me  
You're not the way you seemed  
You look like an angel  
Walk like an angel  
Talk like an angel  
But I got wise  
You're the devil in disguise  
Oh yes you are  
The devil in disguise  
I thought that I was in heaven  
But I was sure surprised  
Heaven help me, I didn't see  
The devil in your eyes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this chapter took so, SO long. I was working on a few other projects and thewhole COVID thing didn't help. Hopefully I will get to finish the last couple chapters in the next 3 weeks.

When the Waynes came to America, they did so hoping that they would find a better future than that in England. They hoped to avoid all the bloodshed caused by Napoleon's raise to power and just continue their business in the new land. Instead what they found was a harsh and uncaring land similar to the one they left behind minus most of the technological advances. Perhaps Edmund's parents were happy working in factories for scraps, but not him. He was born for greatness and that was what he'd acquire, even if that meant turning his life to the shadows as a pirate. Who cared about his family name? They were ruined anyways. Those were the thoughts that got him to a life of a crime. Back when he started he didn't really realize what this meant nor what crime was, now he knew and if regret could kill he'd be a dead man a long time ago. Instead, he'd been chained to a life he despised. He had stopped properly living way before the ship wreck. By the time it happened, he was nothing more than a shell of a man. 

It wasn't a fight or one of the mythical beasts that destroyed the ship, just a storm. A raging storm that seemed to have been sent by the heavens to purge all the crimes of the man on top of that piece of wood. It was almost funny how little they meant in face of nature. The water was freezing cold. It felt as if thousands of blades were stabbing the pirate from the inside out. It was there in a sea of bodies with only his upper body above the water thanks to a plank that Edmund allowed himself to think about how shitty his life had been. Not even the devil would want his darkened soul. He didn't have a single person to more him back home, he didn't have siblings and his parents were since gone. No wife, no children, just cold bloodied gold that would only drag him into hell faster. Somehow, that was worse than the pain or his imminent demise. For the first time in 15 years, Edmund pressed his shaking hands together and brought them to his forehead. For the first time in over a decade, with blue broken lips and barely any air in his lungs, the man closed his eyes and prayed. For the first time in his life, he apologized, "I- do not know if you're there God, I cannot say ever been a b-believer but I still like to think that y-you are. Maybe there is j-justice in the world after all and if there is, I deserve this. I deserve to become j-just another victim of your fury but if you spare me one time, this o-one time, I promise you I will become the best man the Earth has ever since. I swear I- I will do all I can to save as many lives as possible and if I ever have children I promise they will do the same, s-so please God," his voice cracked as he sniffed, "don't let me die alone." He broke into a sobbing and coughing mess. Who would have thought, the last of the Waynes, one of the most feared man in the new world would spend his last moments crying like a little baby? Pathetic. He was pathetic. And even though he was pathetic, he still heard clapping. Slowly, the man opened both of his nearly frozen eyes and looked up as a safe boat sailed closer to them. He could barely make out the shape of what others would have assumed to be a man, but for him was god in human shape. 

His voice was low, gruff and paternal. "Your prayers have been answered my son, I have come to save you from your life of sin and help you follow the light from now on," he said as the boat stopped next to Wayne. The sailor could barely make out the goatee and sideburns in the man. He definitely didn't have enough strength to go in on his own. As he was pulled inside, he felt a hand on his shoulder and the same voice whispered into his ear words that would have made anyone one else shiver. For him, they were a sinal, "welcome, mister Wayne. I have been anxiously waiting to meet you." 

\---

Out of all the despicable people left in that city, Edward Nygma was probably the last one Lee expected to be willingly helping, and yet, there she was patching the man who had killed her best friend and helped destroy her relationship with Jim. Ah, how things had turned out. Sitting by her side was none other than Selina Kyle who was happily eating some cookies Alfred had prepared while her ex not boyfriend talked to her current not boyfriend who so happened to be his clone. Oh, how Lee wished she could remain as calm as the curly haired girl in this situation. 

"Look, he's on." Selina said as the television displayed Jim sitting in front of a woman with black hair and curious but determined eyes. This was his third interview ever since he announced he was working for the mayor and that had been only a few days ago. If she had any doubt this wasn't Jim, that had confirmed all of her suspicions. Her James Gordon wouldn't have gone to one of those not even tied up. "Huh. I'm pretty sure that's his ex too." 

Lee grunted, "Jesus, how many women can one guy date?" 

The teenager shrugged, "how many women are there in Gotham?" 

Lee exhaled, "touché." 

The door opened and Ivy made her way in. The red head had been responsible for ensuring Jonathan Crane didn't escape while the rest of them did whatever the hell they were doing. There was probably not a single one of them that wasn't a mess at that point. "Goth douchebag is sleeping, how's nerdy douchebag doing?" she said before snatching the cookie Selina was about to eat. 

"Hey!" Selina complained as the other threw the treat into her mouth with a grin and ate it slowly to annoy her friend even more. "You're such a bitch," the pickpocket rolled her eyes and went to another corner to avoid the rest of her cookies from being stollen. 

"Edward will survive. He had a few broken bones but thanks to whatever you gave him, they are healing extraordinarily well." 

Ivy smiled proudly, "of course they are. You humans with your fancy pills and technology think you can best nature, however you're nothing more than flesh waiting to decay." 

"You're human too, jackass," Selina retorted. 

"No. I'm more than that. I'm a freak and I am proud of that." She said and controlled a vine to steal another one of Selina's cookies. 

"Oh, c'mon!" The older female huff and Lee couldn't help the chuckle. It was nice to see that despite adversity, these two had managed to stay friends. 

The doctor felt movement next to her and looked down to see her patient sat up with a grunt. "Speaking of freaks," Selina mumbled but Edward didn't react. He leaned forward and hid his face in his hands. 

"Edward, you're probably in a lot of pain right now and I understand that the room might be a little too bright for you-" 

"It doesn't matter," Edward's voice was low, gruff and broken. "Nothing else matters. I failed. I couldn't save him," Lee watched as his back and shoulders moved abruptly. He was actually sobbing. "I had him. I had finally managed to find him again and I let him go. All because I was too stupid!" He yelled and sunk his nails into his skin, "if only I had realized sooner, if only I hadn't been so foolish but no, I just HAD TO be blind to how he felt, to how HE felt!" He grabbed his own chest. 

"Edward," Lee said softly, actually feeling bad for the man. She didn't even think he could be like this. The woman tried to touch his shoulder gently only for him to turn around and snatch her wrists. 

"NO! DON'T TRY TO COMFORT ME! DON'T YOU DARE SAY THAT IT IS GOING TO BE OK, BECAUSE IT WON'T! It won't," he sniffled and looked down, teeth gritted and tears falling, "Oswald is gone and it is all because of me." He croaked. 

"Edward, please listen to me, Oswald is-" 

Screams. 

Of of them were interrupted by the television as what had been a boring interview to fuel a man's ego became a horror movie: A giant mud creature had appeared where the woman had been. They tried to run for their lives only to be absorbed by the brown mass coming from the creature. Lee was just taking a wild guess, but she didn't think that was scripted. 

\--- 

Jim managed to roll out of the way just in time to escape a chair being thrown his way. The man shut his eyes and shook his head to try to focus beyond the virus and Tetch's spell, it only made his head throb more. 

"Jim, look out!" The speaker in his ear yelled and he opened his red eyes to see the gigantic hand stretch towards him. He tried to move out of the way again but he was too late. The hand managed to wrap around his leg and began pulling him to its viscous enormous body where the yells of those trapped within it could still be heard. 

James struggled, kicked and punched as he tried to fight back. He couldn't. The grip was too tight. His head ached too much. The yelling in his ear was too loud. He couldn't even remember who was anymore. Why had he come to that interview anyways? He felt like he was forgetting something important.

As those thoughts passed through his mind, his head was buried in the monster, interrupting the signal and finally allowing his mind to go silent. It didn't last long. 

The creature screeched before Jim and the rest of the people slid out of the body and onto the slimy floor as water rained down from the ceiling. The hunter fell on his knees in front of shiny pointy shoes he knew very well. He looked up slowly to see Oswald staring down at him with a cocky grin. His hair and suit were protected from the water by an umbrella. Of course. "You," Gordon snarled and tried to get to his feet only to be forced back down by the smaller male. 

"Me. Careful now, Jim. You almost choked just now. Why don't you let me take care of this," he said and winked before turning around. He looked at the camera man who'd been abducted by the now dissolved creature and snapped his fingers a few times, "you, I assume the cameras are waterproof so how about you do your job?" 

The man panted as he looked at the Penguin, "w-what?" 

Oswald rolled his eyes, "WE ARE GOING LIVE, YOU MORON! NOW MOVE BEFORE I MAKE YOU!" The man scurried to his feet and did his best not to trip on the mess the floor had become. Oswald exhaled and shook his head slightly, "some people, I swear." 

"How? You're the one behind him, aren't you?" Jim's voice was low and gruff. Oswald turned back to look at him.

He gasped theatrically and brought a hand to his chest, "Jim, I'm offended! I just saved your life and THIS is how you repay me? With doubt? It so happens this creature attacked me and I chased it here. You should be grateful that the springs worked so well." 

"You're full of shit- ack!" Jim brought his hands to his ears as a loud noise exploded in his ears. The speaker was restarting. 

Oswald pressed his tongue against his inner cheek and shrugged, "perhaps, but again, so are them. So are you. This is not you, Jim. You're stronger than them, you can-" 

"SHUT UP!" Jim yelled as he pressed his hands against his ears. 

Oswald opened his mouth to say something, however, he was interrupted by the camera man. "Ok, we're going back live in 3, 2, 1," he gave Oswald the thumbs up. 

The Penguin took a deep breath before turning to Gotham with a welcoming, inviting grin. "Hello, Gotham. It's been a long time. Too long in fact. I know I'm probably one of the last people you'd expect or even like to see right now but there's something that needs to be addressed here. You've been lied to. We all have," he stepped to the side to look at the others, "what you just witnessed here was one of the many monsters created by Hugo Strange, except that unlike what your mayor had you believe, they aren't being controlled by terrorists or anarchists. They are being controlled by your own government, by a secret organization buried deep within this city that goes by the name The Court of Owls. They were the ones who attempted to murder me and started the rumors regarding my involvement with the Wayne murder which I want to make clear, I had NOTHING to do with. Of course, I don't expect you to just believe my word like that. I know all of you are far smarter than that. Luckily, we so happen to have the perfect proof right here." He said and yanked James to his feet. The man growled like a wild best as his eyes glowed red and he tried to attack Oswald only to be forced to stop by the orders in his ear, "Jim was aware of their plans and tried to stop them only to be turned into one of their dolls. Anyone who knew my good friend would be aware that his behaviour in the past week has been anything BUT like him, and that's because it wasn't. They've taken control over him and used his influence, his good heart to manipulate all of you." Oswald pulled out the small object from Jim's ear and showed it to the camera. Jim fell down, wheezing like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. The kingpin continued, "even the monster that attacked today was one of the few that managed to escape and was trying to get back to the Mayor and the Court for what they did. They aren't interested in the good people of the Gotham. They just want justice and justice they will have, but in a way that won't harm YOU, gothamites, which is why I challenge the Mayor and his puppets for one last battle. No tricks, no innocents lost. Just us in the latest laboratory that was attacked. I ask kindly for the police to not get involved since I'm trying to avoid getting anyone that does not deserve it getting hurt. Thank you, Gotham. Goodnight." He nodded as to gesture for the cameraman to stop and then looked at Jim placing a hand on his back. "Jim, can you hear me now?" 

James tackled Oswald to the ground and wrapped his hands around his neck, "this is not over, Oswald." 

Oswald was very clearly not expecting this. He tried to speak as he was choked, "J-Jim, listen, p-please!" 

The cop threw the smaller man's body away as sirens became audible. He didn't want to be locked up. He wasn't an animal. He wasn't a monster. He knew that much. The last thing he heard before running out of there was someone's voice calling his name. He didn't look back. 

\---

The car door closed behind Oswald with a click. "If it isn't the man of the hour himself, that was great, boy. Mama is proud of you." His ex boss waited for him inside the car with a pair of large square sunglasses and a hood over her head. Next to her was another woman with straight hair and a stern expression.

"Thank you," he said though distracted. Sure, he was happy that Fish's plan had worked but he was worried about Jim, not that he'd ever admit it. Sure the two of them had a rivalry going on however deep down he still saw the detective as a friend, or at the very least an important ally. Of course, Fish didn't care. Everything had gone as she had planned. From controlling the guards to replacing Vale with the clay guy. It made Oswald wonder how much pain he could have avoided if he'd gone to her from the start. 

"I just hope you two are right. I'm betting my career here, you know." The straight haired woman said with her arms crossed and eyes closed. 

"Don't worry, Val. We are professionals. We will have this city rescued in no time and you'll get the story of your life. Just wait for the agreed time to post all the files and data we gave you." Fish replied while leaning on Oswald too much for his own comfort. 

"You know this is not why I'm doing this," the reporter opened her eyes, "I want Jim and everyone else safe. I want people to know the truth. That's why I do what I do."

Fish nodded, "of course. Don't worry, Val. We will get your boy in time. Patience is a virtue."

"He is not my boy," Valerie looked through the window, "but Jim is a good man, one of the few left in this city. It's not fair for him to get ruined because because someone else's plan failed," her words were like daggers aimed at Oswald. Luckily he'd always been good at dodging.

"Hey! Look, it was a good plan! Somewhat... I would have come up with something better if the entire city didn't hate my guts. I wonder who went around telling everyone and their moms I killed the most beloved couple in the city?" 

Valerie took a deep breath, "just so you know, it wasn't my story. I never even believed it." 

Oswald blinked, "wait, you didn't?" 

"Yeah, you aren't smart enough to commit a crime like that without leaving no trails. Jim would have found you out a long time ago." 

The kingpin glared at her with narrowed eyes, "be glad Fish is here." 

"Now now, children, let us not fight. We will have enough time for fighting with the enemy in front of us. At the moment, we should get go ready." 

"Actually, if you don't mind, I have to stop somewhere first." 

"Yeah, I should probably call my girlfriend too. She must be worried sick." 

Oswald could feel Fish's eyes from behind the glasses. She wasn't pleased but she complied with a dismissive hand. "Of course. young, futile love. Very well, do as you must but be quick. We haven't won just yet." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so 3 more chapters to go and I might do an epilogue. After that, we will see. Truth be told, this fic is pretty difficult to write, not because I don't know the story, I pretty much had all of it planned from the start, but because of how it is structure. I really wanted to try and make it feel like the show with different cuts to other characters point of view and a set number of chapters (season 3 had 22 episodes and I started on episode 4 I believe) so I had to drag out some points, shorten a few others and plain out cut other parts (mostly interactions that didn't have much purpose beyond characterization.) Basically, this is hard and I have a lot of respect for Gotham's writers for managing to keep up with this format. In any case, that's it. I appreciate anyone still reading and both Kudos and Comments are very appreciated.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are always appreciated and so are kudos. Don't forget to bookmark it if you enjoy this.


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